City University of New York to Form Open Source Solutions Lab for Government

Photo: Paul J. Cosgrave, CIO for the city of New York and commissioner of the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications.

The City University of New York (CUNY) Red Hat and Intel announced a collaboration to form the New York City Open Source Solutions Lab at the CUNY Institute for Software Design and Development. The facility will be a state-of-the-art center in which New York-based government IT professionals can test open source software solutions based on Intel architecture.

The Open Source Solutions Lab, based at the CUNY Graduate Center, houses hardware provided by Intel Corp. and Red Hat Enterprise Linux software donated by Red Hat. In addition to hardware and software, the companies are also supplying support services. CUNY's Institute for Software Design and Development, which serves as a research partner for New York city government agencies, is providing its extensive industry expertise to the project.

University Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer Allan Dobrin stated, "We are proud of CUNY's long history of engagement with New York's private industry and government. Given the growth potential of the open source market, we anticipate that CUNY's Institute for Software Design and Development will offer significant assistance to government agencies in evaluating and testing new open source technology solutions that will enable them to better serve our city's residents."

"Government entities across the country have seen tremendous value from open source solutions like Red Hat Enterprise Linux," said Paul Smith, vice president of Government Sales Operations at Red Hat. "The Solutions Lab provides the ideal environment for New York-based agencies and departments to see the benefits for themselves. Adoption of open source is growing rapidly across the public sector and with this Solutions Lab, New York has put itself in the forefront of open source innovation."

"This innovative collaboration, enabling the creation of the Open Source Solutions Lab, is an idea whose time has come," said Paul J. Cosgrave, CIO for the city of New York and commissioner of the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. "This Lab will facilitate open source adoption throughout the city where appropriate. It's an ideal proving ground for testing the value proponent of open source and leveraging those cost savings for our agencies."

The Open Source Solutions Lab is designed to help New York city area public sector government IT professionals consider more cost-effective and flexible technology options prior to deployment. The establishment of a stable and defined IT environment, combined with the availability of extensive support services, makes the OSSL an ideal place for examining and testing Open Source solutions.

An Advisory Board will oversee the Solutions Lab. City and state IT professionals will be able to make an appointment to use the Lab for testing activities and support services.