Sirius Open Source Expertise Supports Cabinet Office Government Digital Service

Helping Government deliver world-class digital products and services through Open Source

Sirius, the UK's Flagship Open Source company today confirms that it has been working with the Cabinet Office Government Digital Service (GDS) on their 'Digital by Default' strategy, the Government's response to Martha Lane Fox’s ‘Directgov 2010 and beyond: revolution not evolution’ report. The GDS team, tasked with delivering world-class government services, are doing this in an entirely new and unique way. Using iterative Agile methodology and a technology stack built around Open Source, Open Standards, and Open Data, GDS is also engaging with a new generation of suppliers and demonstrating by example to the rest of Government how to engage successfully with SMEs.

GDS online services leverage Drupal, the hugely successful Open Source Content Management System. Sirius provide Open Source strategy, training and support services around Drupal to the GDS Team.

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."

Mark Taylor, Sirius’ CEO and well-known Open Source in Government advocate commented :

“Government Open Source usage along with genuine SME engagement has been a notable feature of policy for some time now. GDS are clearly leading on both, and we hope other Government departments will take notice and learn from the low-cost, high-performance results that this innovative Cabinet Office team are delivering through this approach."

Drupal itself is increasingly popular with Governments around the world, UK Government adoption adding further to its evident credibility.

Speaking from New York, Jacob Redding, Executive Director of the Drupal Association said:

"A growing number of governments around the world have migrated to Open Source not only for the cost savings but for the innovation and transparency that it provides. As an Open Source Software project Drupal is a great fit for governments not only because of the cost savings, but because it allows a government to get its data out on to the web quickly and efficiently." and continued with "In this modern age it's important for all governments to get information and data out to its constituents to provide an open and transparent process. Open Source software allows government to do exactly that.".

The Sirius solutions portfolio, in addition to Online Presence, includes Identity Management, Data Management and Enterprise Search - all free from vendor lock-in, with lower acquisition and maintenance costs, performing to a higher standard and allowing full access to source code.

About The Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office sits at the very centre of government, with an overarching purpose of making government work better. We support the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, helping to ensure effective development, coordination and implementation of policy and operations across all government departments. We also lead work to ensure the Civil Service provides the most effective and efficient support to Government to help it meet its objectives. For more information go to http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/

About Sirius Corporation Sirius is the UK's flagship open source solutions provider with 15 years’ experience supporting mission critical enterprise applications and infrastructure. Our consultants, business analysts, IT architects and support engineers work with central and local government agencies, blue-chip multi-nationals, SMEs and start-ups to identify, deploy and manage feature-rich and stable open source solutions. For more information go to http://www.siriusopensource.com/

For interviews contact: Maz Khan 0870 608 0063 maz.khan@siriusit.co.uk