TY - JOUR T1 - Use of Open Source Software by the Brazilian Government JF - Open Source Business Resource Y1 - 2009 A1 - Edgy Paiva AB - In most countries, government initiatives that encourage the use of open source software are primarily motivated by the goal of reducing costs. In Brazil, the goal is different. According to Rog?rio Santanna, Secretary of Logistics and IT at the Brazilian Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management, "open source is a strategic choice of the Brazilian Federal Government since 2003 because it reduces costs, increases the competition, creates jobs and develops the knowledge and intelligence of our country. Our preference for open source is not motivated only by economic aspects. But there is also the possibility to develop new products, distribute the knowledge, access to new technologies and to stimulate the development of software in collaborative environments". This article shows how the Brazilian Government is using OSS, gives some examples of successful Brazilian projects that use OSS, explains some difficulties for implementing OSS, and makes a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of using OSS. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa UR - http://timreview.ca/article/250 IS - May 2009 U1 - IVIA Edgy Paiva has a Bachelor degree in Computer Science and is currently a MSc. Student in Applied Informatics at the University of Fortaleza in Ceara, Brazil. He is a Brazilian entrepreneur and Co-founder and Director of IVIA, a premier IT services provider with core competencies in offshore IT services, on-demand services, custom application development, web design and search engine optimization. ER -