GSN reports on Casey Coleman, chief information officer of the General Services Administration:

Nonetheless, there are good reasons for considering open source, she said. By using open source, the agency won't be locked in to using a proprietary software program, at least for the duration of the contract.

Not having sunk costs in a commercial software program also means the agency can move to a new program more quickly should its needs change. The general openness also means the agency could become a collaborator in the further development of the software itself.

"You get much more transparency and interoperability, and that reduces your risk," she said.

The German Federal Foreign Office made the same observations.