@danlatorre - Often the open source conversation jumps right to CMS solutions. Maybe because the proprietary enterprise content management systems are so deeply engrained.

But open Source isn't just about CMSs. It's not just encouraging .gov to use Drupal. There are many other tools. I'm thinking in particular of Fixcity, which you created, and other tools like it.

This is why I didn't specify any particular platform type. The key point really is "popular": platforms with a wide following of programmers contributing to it... a vibrant social ecosystem supporting and innovating along the way. As a policy point it's important to capture the principle and not state any particular solution.

A similar open source suggestion was posted elsewhere here..

I think that there are more pieces to a puzzle to consider than this. Total Cost of Ownership, Domestic Economic Impact, JOBS, National Competitive Advantage, Security, etc... the list goes on.

I used to think simply. A simple cost-factor should determine what is used. However, as I have grown older and presumably wiser (though that is arguable), I have come to recognize that the impact of Government spending domestically is a factor. Making everything open source actually hurts the US more than helps it. Investing in our companies, in our technologies, in our innovations, and in ourselves helps the country.

Drupal for instance... Dutch. Hmmm.... If Total Cost of Ownership for Drupal and Total Cost of Ownership for a domestic "closed source" product are pretty much equivalent (which they usually are given the responsiveness of support and the financial backing for closed systems versus the lack thereof for open systems) then doesn't it make sense to support JOBS here?

I say all this to highlight that it is not just a simple "its free" equation. It is much more than that. No matter how much we may loathe certain closed source companies, it is our job as public servants to do what is best for the country. Which is not necessarily what is best for the rest of the world, BTW.

@cjguru - I hear where you are coming from. And yes, the role of the Federal government in driving the economy is clear, and adding that to the calculus of decision making is worth noting. But the location of the owner of the corporation that holds the copyright to the software does not clearly indicate where the software is produced. While Drupal has Dutch origins, the project has an international community that expands it's reach, as well as serving as a great pool of local talent for implementation.

The goal is what is best for the end-user and the organization. Open source software is usually driven by developers who are intrinsically motivated to make useful, important tools. If the non-open source options can't compete with them on usefulness and quality, that distorts the product/market/fit, which does not help US firms in the end.

Any cost savings can always be redirected towards other services or specialization, such as content strategy, usability testing, design, etc.

There's nothing stopping the government from paying people here in the US to develop, extend, and support a project like Drupal that started somewhere else. Building something from scratch just to "create jobs" is creating a false economy built only on subsidy, which doesn't drive any actual growth - it's just moving money around.