UK transport ministry extends its use of open source

The UK government's Department for Transport (DfT) has signed a new contract with Kainos to support the department's new open-source-based web systems and move them to a hybrid cloud environment. The Department for Transport has informed The H that the technologies involved are the WordPress open source content management system which will be running on RackSpace's public cloud and the department's own private clouds. The DfT have been assisted by Kainos's Causeway division in a migration from their previous proprietary Morello CMS to WordPress.

According to a report on responsesource.com, quoting Sioned James, the DfT's Head of Digital Communications, Kainos had helped the department move the Driving Standards Agency onto the same platform which has given the DfT "the option to do this with other DfT Agency content, including campaign and stand-alone websites". James said that: "The main driver was to reduce expenditure, increase flexibility, and support the Government drive towards open source and software re-use. [The contractor] supported us by conducting an independent review of the solution options. We had an idea of what we wanted, but needed expert advice and assurance."

The cost savings made by the DfT include freeing the department from the annual cost of an enterprise software licence, and the ability to dynamically scale up, or down, the web resources available in the cloud to respond to demand.

(ehe)