Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Against lock-in: building open ICT systems by making better use of standards in public procurement

Many organisations are ‘locked’ into their ICT systems because detailed knowledge about how the system works is available only to the provider, so that when they need to buy new components or licences only that provider can deliver. This lack of competition leads to higher prices and some €1.1 billion per year is lost unnecessarily in the public sector alone.

Making better use of standards allowing competitors to provide alternative solutions will diminish lock-in and increase competition, thus reducing prices and potentially increasing quality. This is because standards determine the key element of a technology and create a level playing field for all ICT suppliers. More suppliers will be able to submit offers to invitations to tender for standards-based systems, leading to more competition and choice.

The Digital Agenda for Europe identified lock-in as a problem, and its Action 23 committed to providing guidance on the link between ICT standardisation and public procurement to help public authorities use standards to promote efficiency and reduce lock-in. To that end, this Communication is accompanied by a practical guide on how to make better use of standards in procurement, in particular in the public sector.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)455: Follow the progress of this communication through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:455:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2013)224: Guide for the procurement of standards-based ICT - Elements of good practice http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2013:224:FIN

ESO: Background information: Digital Agenda: Open standards would save public sector €1 billion a year http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-digital-agenda-open-standards-would-save-public-sector-e1-billion-a-year/

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