Open Source is a method of development and distribution of software where the vendor or community allows access to their source code. The real “free” in open source is not cost but the freedom of choice and non reliance on one proprietary vendor. The OS team have been charged with evaluating Open Source Software with the ultimate goal of implementing and managing an in-house Open Source environment. The team is building expertise in various open source technologies and is working with interested parties in the local government sector to build a community on knowledge.
Objectives
- Thorough understanding of Open Source and its application to LGMA and the wider Local Government Sector.
- Identify potential for LGMA to move technology to complete or partial Open Source platform.
- Develop deep understanding of the Interoperability of Open Standards with the current practice and patterns within Local Government.
- Communication and understanding between LGMA and Local Authorities on Open Source.
Highlighted Projects
Open Source CRM
The implementation of a CRM to manage the customer interface for the Household Charge project has facilitated the efficient management of the customer interface through Email, Calls and Letters.
The Household Charge was a high profile national project which went live on January 1st 2012. SugarCRM Community Edition was utilised as the customer management service for this project. It successfully managed all email, calls and correspondence received in the HC Bureau.
It provides automated workflows, issue assignment and resolution tracking. Daily statistics and reports were provided for a very high pressure environment.
The implementation of SugarCRM for the Household Charge project has been utilised for the Protect our Water project and the NPPR project providing significant savings on licencing and development costs.
LGMA Website
The development and implementation of a website for the LGMA using Drupal 7 CMS.
The construction of an initial website was scheduled to coincide with the launch of the new organisation, this will be followed by a more in-depth website in phase 2.
Open Source Sandbox
To assist local authorities in exploring open source solutions, the LGMA has developed a stand alone network infrastructure with a 10Mb Government Network connection to allow local authorities to test open source solutions in a safe controlled environment. The environment consists of three VMware freeware ESXi servers with 4TB of storage behind a pfSense firewall cluster with Web, LAN & Dev DMZs pre-configured, and with a Microsoft AD DC & an Exchange 2003 server setup on the LAN. Accessed via a VPN, this allows the LAs to deploy a full front & back end solution and have it published onto any of the Government Network services for testing.
Web Content Filtering
The LGMA is currently investigating open source web content filtering solutions that would be suitable for deployment in local authority LAN environments. Having looked at a number of possible solutions, we are currently doing further design consultancy into the Dansguardian and Squid solution, looking specifically into list categorisation & maintenance issues.
Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP)
LTSP is a thin-client solution based on Linux that allows client PCs to boot a read-only Linux OS via the network from a central server. This provides a very robust and virtually tamper-proof workstation and is ideally suited for deployment in schools, libraries & training environments. The LGMA has been looking at different Linux distribution implementations of LTSP within it’s sandbox environment and is now beginning a pilot deployment on the LGMA LAN to see how it would work in an existing Microsoft AD LAN.
Open Source Hosting
The LGMA is currently testing the deployment of Linux servers in a controlled & secure hosting environment to allow it’s Hosting clients to deploy open source solutions.