Cofirmation from Commissioner Šefčovič: EU Commission is set up for using ODF

In a response to a question from the European Parliament Commissioner Šefčovič confirmed that the European Commission is set up to support ODF in external communication for documents if they are open for revision. The ODF standard can be used as well as the OOXML standard.

See the full response on the website of the European Parliament.

EU Rolling Plan on ICT Standardisation

First of all, Happy New Year to you all – above all good health, success and lots of luck.

For ICT standardisation in Europe the New Year starts with great news. Just before Christmas the European Commission published the EU Rolling Plan on ICT Standardisation. This is a work programme focussing on how ICT standards and specifications can support EU policies across all different Commission Directorates.

For the first time such a concise document is available providing advice to the Commission Services on the availability of standards and specifications, including global ICT specifications, and providing a plan for ICT standards bodies of how policy making in Europe can be supported by standardisation. It also provides a high level of transparency to all stakeholders and to the public. This Rolling Plan has the potential to further drive the use and implementation of standards and specifications in policy contexts in Europe – and it may shine beyond the borders of the EU.

The Rolling Plan is part of what had been introduced with Regulation 1025/2012. It was developed by the European Commission in close collaboration with the EU ICT Multi-Stakeholder Platform with the involvement of the Member States, Industry, European and global standards bodies, societal stakeholders. It therefore reflects a broad consensus on needs and opportunities for standardisation. And it is a great result – amongst others – of the productive and forward-looking work of the ICT Multi-Stakeholder Platform.

The Rolling Plan is available for download from the Commission website. It consists of two introductory chapters outlining the strategic thinking behind the Rolling Plan and the opportunities for implementation of standards. The major part of the Rolling Plan is chapter 3 which looks at standardisation in the context of the policy priorities identified by the European Commission. Finally, a chapter 4 also highlights horizontal standards and specifications that are of relevance across many ICT implementations.

Congratulations to the European Commission for developing this Rolling Plan and creating such a valuable level of planning around ICT standardisation in the context of EU policy making.

A good day to remember this magnificent event... Jeopardy....

Fresh thinking for Cloud technologies - the Open Cloud Declaration

Good news for all those who are looking for guidance on Cloud technologies... Under OpenForum Europe's leadership a number of stakeholders in Cloud technologies and services have developed the Open Cloud Declaration. It addresses the full spectrum of what is needed for successful and trusted Cloud computing services.

Special focus is on openness and an open, competitive market for Cloud technologies in order to avoid lock-in and dependency on a single or specific group of providers. In general, the Declaration is a major contribution for forward looking actions regarding the adoption of Cloud technologies and the commitment of market players to drive Cloud technologies as the major computing paradigm of the future.

European Commission guide to better practices in public procurement of ICT technologies

The week before last the EuropeanCommission issued a Communication “Against lock-in: building open ICT systems by making better use of standards in public procurement”. (COM(2013) 455 - together with SWD(2013) 224). This results from Digital Agenda Action Item 23. The objective is to provide guidance on ICT procurement for better procurement by putting more stress on standards and achieving more openness with open ICT infrastructures in public administrations. And this Communication complements a number of other Commission initiatives and guides, above all the European Interoperability Framework. But it also refers to how the new EU Regulation on Standardisation (1025/2012) can help to make use of best-of-breed global ICT standards.

I could be very brief by saying the guide is extremely good. Please read it – it's available on the Commission web site. And public authorities: please make use of it. The open way which is standards based is the better way for increasing choice, flexibility and allowing the uptake of innovative new technologies.

The Communication was presented alongwith the statement that the use of “Open standards would save public sector €1 billion a year”. Personally, I am always cautious with such savings statements. But for sure: Open Standards are a way to achieve cost effectiveness, reduce exit costs for technologies and stifle competition and enable greater choice.

The key aspect, to avoid lock-in, is in the focus of the documents:

“Using ICT systems based on standards instead of proprietary technology will help to open up restrictive public procurement practices, because standards make essential knowledge about a system available to anyone, implying that other potential suppliers could maintain or evolve the system under more competitive terms and conditions.” (Communication, p. 4)

The Guide, published as a Staff Working Document (SWD), is composed to give practical advice on how to proceed for analysis in decision making when taking procurement decisions around ICT. It is clearly structured – and I would add worth reading and inspiring also for non-procurers. It covers the different steps from strategy building to long term budgetary planning. All in all a comprehensive approach with high practical relevance.

The benefits of standards is a key aspect addressed. Or better: procurers are guided towards putting a strong focus on standards, building expertise around standards and standardisation and how to assess what is required to meet their needs. And the Guide is not shy in clearly stating that “FRAND licenses create barriers for Open Source projects to implement the technical specification” (Guide, p. 12), which needs to be considered in the context of software interoperability standards.

All in all two very good and useful documents from the Commission. Some people in their reactions over the last two weeks criticised that the Commission is not going far enough. E.g. that practical interoperability is hampered because the Commission does not act accordingly, e.g. when it comes to document formats. While this may be correct, it is more an issue of the implementation of the Guide than of the Guide as such. And this is also my wish: that the Guide may be promoted and find many followers in public procurement. Following the Guide will promote interoperability and will push the implementation of open ICT ecosystems – with all benefits regarding freedom of choice, encouraging competition and innovation, and driving the uptake of new ICT technologies in the European public sector.

G8 oder G9 - quo vadis Baden-Württemberg?

Vor ein paar Wochen gab es schon mal Zwist in der Grün-Roten Koalition in Baden-Württemberg wegen G9, d.h. insbesondere zofften sich wohl die beiden Franktionsvorsitzenden/innen darüber. Klarer Standpunkt des SPD Franktionsvorsitzenden Schmiedel: Die SPD will mehr Schulen ermöglichen, zu G9 zurück zu kehren, als es im Koalitionsvertrag vor einigen Jahren festgeschrieben wurde. Und die SPD ist auch willens, dies zum Wahlkampfthema zu machen. Zu meiner Überraschung die Position der Grünen, z.B. vertreten von der Fraktionsvorsitzenden Sitzmann: keine Erhöhung der Zahl der Schulen, die G9 wieder einführen dürfen; statt dessen Förderung von Gemeinschaftsschulen und Verbesserungen an G8. In den vergangenen Wochen wurde diese Position seitens der baden-württembergischen Grünen immer wieder bestätigt.

Nun, ich bin ein bekennender Anhänger von G9 - 13 Jahre bis zum Abitur. In einer Welt, in der Bildung und Wissen unser größtes Kapital ist, können wir die 13 Jahre, können wir G9 gut gebrauchen. In G8 wurde schulisches Lernen auf Wissensvermittlung reduziert. Es bleibt einfach kein Platz für echte Bildung, für die Ausgestaltung einer Schule als Mikrokosmos, als Polis, in der nicht nur Wissensblock and Wissensblock gehängt, sondern in der verantwortungsvolle, junge Menschen auf das Leben vorbereitet werden.

Die Grünen wollen offenbar all jene, die nicht gleich auf's G8 gehen oder die sich mit G8 nicht wohlfühlen, in die beruflichen Gymnasien oder in die Gemeinschaftsschule drängen. Das ist Separatismus und konterkariert Durchlässigkeit und Chancengleichheit. Netto heißt das zum Beispiel: Wer heute als Kind nach Klasse 4 nicht gleich ein G8 Gymnasium besucht, kann es nur mit der Überwindung von Hürden zur allgemeinen Hochschulreife bringen. Spätentwickler, Kinder aus bildungsfernen Schichten, deren Eltern sich nicht trauen, ihre Kleinen gleich aufs Gymnasium zu schikcne, sind hier am Ende die Verlierer.

Mir ist die Haltung der Grünen hier nicht klar. Erstaunlich bis Enttäuschend. Ich hätte von der Grün-Roten Landesregierung gerade in der Schul- und Bildungspolitik ein paar Impulse erwartet - Baden-Württemberg bietet ein solides Fundament, auf dem eine innovative Schul- und Bildungspolitik aufbauen könnte. Das bremsen die Grünen aus mir nicht nachvollziehbaren Gründen gerade aus. Schade eigentlich ....

EuroCloud Germany – Conference 2013

There is probably no more agile and informative promoter of using and profiting from Cloud technologies in Europe than EuroCloud. EuroCloud cover the full spectrum from creating awareness on the benefits of Cloud technologies to actual requirements gathering for future innovation around the Cloud. In this context, EuroCloud also actively contribute to the work done at ETSI's for defining a Cloud standards map for Europe.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being invited at the EuroCloud Germany annual conference 2013. In my role as co-facilitator of the ETSI standards mapping activity I was invited to speak about Cloud standardisation and the Cloud Standards Coordination. I tried to paint a picture of the Cloud standardisation landscape with some special focus on the fact that a large number of Cloud standards are already available and the actual task is to identify them and prepare for combining them into Cloud solutions. I stressed that standardisation Is going new ways in Cloud with partnering and collaborating closely with customers, e.g. in the Cloud Standards Customer Council, and in taking a community approach for an open Cloud platform as done in the OpenStack Foundation. My slides are available on silde share: 

1305 eurocloud jfriedrich from Jochen Friedrich

The programme of the conference was extremely good with a number of high level speakers and excellent presentations. Some of my take-aways are:

• Cloud technologies are not just a business for CTOs or CIOs in companies, they need to be addressed at the CEO and COO level.
• It is important to demonstrate to potential Cloud users the actual applications and solutions they can achieve by using the Cloud.
• Let's not talk Cloud technology more complex than it is – otherwise users will be frightened off.
• Trust and security are key aspects for Cloud users.
• Vendor lock-in will not help in achieving a broad uptake of Cloud technologies.

All in all really a great and informative conference. Congratulations to the organisers.