Open Source Program Office

When organizations, especially large corporations or public authorities, use Open Source Software, sooner or later questions arise that should be clarified uniformly. With the "Open Source Program Office", there is now a name for the department of an organization that is supposed to take care of questions relating to the use of Open Source.

These questions include: Which Open Source licenses are appropriate? Should employees contribute to Open Source projects? How do you choose the right Open Source components to improve the development of your products?

The nonprofit, independent think tank OpenForum Europe defines the Open Source Program Office as „an institutional organizational construct that supports and accelerates the use, creation and application of Open Source Software.”