Sirius opens up the Government Digital Service

Open source consultancy hopes other departments will follow GDS' lead in open source adoption

Open source VAR Sirius Corporation hopes its recent work with the Government Digital Service (GDS) will inspire other government departments to consider using open source technology.

The firm has worked with the GDS for the past two months, providing the department with workshops, strategy support, component building and assistance with operating the open-source content management system Drupal.

GDS, which now runs the Drupal system, has been charged with putting government services online using open source software.

Mark Taylor, Sirius chief executive, believes GDS is paving the way for savings across governmental departments.

"I think the government's [open source] savings will start coming in as soon as its departments use it as much as the GDS are. We know only a few are starting to use it now, but the GDS is a unique example of how open source can be used," he said.

The collaboration with GDS comes following the government's response to Martha Lane Fox's 2010 report into its digital strategy.

Mark O'Neill, head of innovation and delivery at GDS, said: "At GDS we are committed to delivering rapid, robust and cost-effective solutions. We were very happy with the ability of Sirius to respond to tight timescales to meet our business needs. This is an example of how government and SMEs can work together to achieve successful outcomes."