UK government considering switching to open source

The UK government is apparently looking to embrace open source software in order to save costs. The new government policy would encourage the use of open source software wherever possible in order to save taxpayer money and use money it already has in the budget more efficiently.

Earlier this month the Canadian government also indicated it would like to start using open source software as a way to shave of some of its operating costs. The move to open source would help decrease the countries dependence on the US for software needs, and could help them save a pretty substantial amount of cash in the process.

What do you think about governments switching to open source software? Do you think it’s a good idea? [via ArsTechnica]