Photos: Centre launched to promote open source

Scott Thompson, director of Open Advantage — a West Midlands-based open-source development centre — told the event that the NOC had spent the last four months "understanding the technologies", running seminars and workshops and working with open-source communities.

"We will have a national focus for open-source matters in the UK," said Thompson, who believes the centre could play an important role. 

"We will ensure UK participation in international debates concerning open-source policy. Open source is the ICT phenomenon of the first decade of the 21st century. Penetration in the public sector is high, albeit in piecemeal fashion," said Thompson.