Open-Source Software (OSS) creates a basis for new European digital industry, promoting innovations, changing markets and increasing digital sovereignty. At the moment, open source, open data, open standards and APIs are still not promoted systematically enough. In addition, there are still room for improvement in increasing and supporting collaboration between industry, education and R&D institutions. There is a need for increasing pace of developing innovations towards commercial exploitation.
Increasing companies’ utilization of Open-Source Software for business purposes could be supported through active collaboration and knowledge transfer. Networking among relevant national and international competences is a vital part of reaching such objective. These goals could be achieved by establishing a competence center that focuses on open source-related topics.
This project sought to strengthen companies’ change- and innovation capabilities by offering them consultancy, guidance, and training for utlising Open-Source Software in their business and digitalisation development efforts. During the project, industry needs were researched and open source solutions were proposed for companies’ identified needs.
The proposed open source solutions were collaboratively evaluated in order to understand better companies’ interest of utilizing OSS and their competence needs. The project resulted with a plan for establishing an open source competence center and for building collaborative ties with industry, as well as with international and national partners.
ACTIONS
- Exploring the possibilities of utilizing open source code for supporting companies’ digitalization development
- Identification of open source code competence needs and addressing them
- Planning of an open source code competence center
RESULTS
- Company-specific plans to meet business and digitalization development needs through the use of open source code
- Training sessions on open source code topics
- Action plan for establishing an open source code competence center.