COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Against lock-in: building open ICT systems by making better use of standards in public procurement
Date: 2013-06-25
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Internet access provider, access to EU information, citizen-authority relations, electronic government, information technology, public contract

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 25.6.2013  
COM(2013) 455 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Against lock-in: building open ICT systems by making better use of standards in public 
procurement 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

{SWD(2013) 224 final} 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Against lock-in: building open ICT systems by making better use of standards in public 
procurement 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Many  organisations  are  ‘locked’  into  their  ICT  systems  because  detailed  knowledge  about 
how the system works is available only to the provider, so that when they need to buy new 
components  or  licences  only  that  provider  can  deliver.  This  lack  of  competition  leads  to 
higher prices and some €

 1.1 billion per year is lost unnecessarily in the public sector alone1. 

Making  better  use  of  standards  allowing  competitors  to  provide  alternative  solutions  will 
diminish  lock-in  and  increase  competition,  thus  reducing  prices  and  potentially  increasing 
quality.  This  is  because  standards  determine  the  key  element  of  a  technology  and  create  a 
level  playing  field  for  all  ICT  suppliers2.  More  suppliers  will  be  able  to  submit  offers  to 
invitations to tender for standards-based systems, leading to more competition and choice. 

The Digital Agenda for Europe3 identified lock-in as a problem, and its Action 23 committed 
to  providing  guidance  on  the  link  between  ICT  standardisation  and  public  procurement  to 
help  public  authorities  use  standards  to  promote  efficiency  and  reduce  lock-in.  To  that  end, 
this  Communication  is  accompanied  by  a  practical  guide  on  how  to  make  better  use  of 
standards in procurement, in particular in the public sector. 

2. 

THE PROBLEM OF LOCK-IN WITH ICT SYSTEMS 

Public authorities enter into contracts with providers of ICT in order to use an ICT product or 
service for a certain period of time. ‘Lock-in’ has happened when the public authority cannot 
easily change a provider after the expiration of this period of time, because not all essential 
information about the system is available for efficient takeover by another provider.  

A  survey4  carried  out  in  2011  (2011  Survey)  among  public  procurement  officials  in  the 
European  Union  Member  States  showed  that  of  the  244  procuring  authorities  surveyed,  at 

1 
2 

3 

4 

‘An 

(2005) 

for  open 

economic  basis 

See section 2 for a justification of this figure. 
Ghosh,  R.A 
http://flosspols.org/deliverables/FLOSSPOLS-D04-openstandards-v6.pdf. 
Action  23  of  the  Digital  Agenda  commits  to  providing  ‘guidance  on  the  link  between  ICT 
standardisation and public procurement to help public authorities to use standards to promote efficiency 
and 
http://eur-
COM/2010/0245, 
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52010DC0245R(01):EN:NOT.  For  more  on 
see  http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/pillar-ii-interoperability-standards/action-23-
Action  23, 
provide-guidance-ict-standardisation-and-public. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/ssai/docs/study-action23/study44-survey1results.pdf. 

standards’  FLOSSPOLS  project, 

available 

lock-in’, 

reduce 

at 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
                                                 
least 40 % considered that changing their existing ICT solution would be too costly because it 
would involve changing many other systems that use the data of the system that they would 
like  to  change.  Of  those  surveyed,  25 %  felt  they  would  not  be  able  to  change  their  ICT 
solutions for fear that their information would not be transferable. 

A  ‘lock-in’  situation  will  usually  imply  that  procurement  documents  for  the  next  contract 
related to the ICT system causing the ‘lock-in’ will contain references to the brand name of 
that  system.  Purchasers  must  resort  to  reference  to  brand  names,  because  the  lack  of 
information  about  the  ICT  system  makes  it  impossible  to  describe  the  system  sufficiently 
precise in any other way. 

A number of studies5 have indeed indicated an extensive use of brand names in procurement 
documents. The percentage of invitations to tender referring to brand names ranges from 16 % 
to  36 %,  depending  on  the  samples  used  in  the  studies.  In  addition,  the  majority  of  the  244 
respondents  to  the  2011  Survey  use  brand  names  in  invitations  to  tender,  with  23 %  either 
always or often referring to brand names, and just under 40 % only sometimes doing so.  

However, under procurement  rules  of  the Union6, technical specifications shall afford equal 
access of economic operators to the procurement procedure and not have the effect of creating 
unjustified obstacles  to the  opening  up  of public procurement to competition. References to 
brand  names  are  allowed  only  on  an  exceptional  basis,  where  a  sufficiently  precise  and 
intelligible  description  of  the  subject-matter  of  the  contract  using  is  not  possible  by  other 
means laid down by Union legislation; such reference shall be accompanied by the words "or 
equivalent". 

The  use  of  brand  names  in  procurement  documents  will  restrict  competition  to  suppliers  of 
that  brand  and  leads  to  an  effective  monopoly  and  its  price  implications.  Furthermore, 
dependence  on  a  single  vendor  for  an  ICT  system  and  its  future  evolution  can  lead  to 
problems of business continuity as there is a risk that a vendor can decide to stop supporting 
the system or certain features of the system. It can also lead to missed opportunities for more 
innovation and efficiency, particularly when the vendor is not capable of keeping the system 
future-proof.  

Results from a Commission study7 found that open tendering procedures are very effective in 
attracting increased numbers of bidders, and that doubling the number of bidders lowered the 
contract value by around 9 %. 

Based  on  this  ratio  of  increased  bidders  to  reduced  costs,  and  EU  ICT  public  procurement 
 78  billion8,  with  16 %  of  such  procurements  referring  to  brand  names,  public 
estimated  at  €

5 

6 
7 

8 

http://flosspols.org/deliverables/FLOSSPOLS-D04-openstandards-v6.pdf; 

For example, R.A. Ghosh (2005), ‘An Economic Basis for Open Standards’ Maastricht, FLOSSPOLS 
project, 
Paapst,  M. 
‘Affirmative  action  in  procurement  for  open  standards  and  FLOSS.’  International  Free  and  Open 
Software Law Review Vol.2 No 2 pp. 184-185, see http://www.ifosslr.org/ifosslr/article/view/41, Open 
Forum Europe, (2011); ‘OFE Procurement Monitoring Report: EU Member States practice of referring 
to  specific  trademarks  when  procuring  for  Computer  Software  Packages  and  Information  Systems 
between 
see 
6, 
and 
http://www.openforumeurope.org/openprocurement/open-procurement-library/Report_2010.pdf; . 
Directive 2004/18/EC, OJ L 134, 30.4.2004, p. 114–240 . 
‘Estimating 
from 
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/docs/modernising_rules/estimating-benefits-
procurement-directives_en.pdf. 
This is based on a figure for UK government expenditure on IT of €
 18 billion in 2010 and research that 
indicates  the  UK  accounts  for  23 %  of  EU  public  IT  expenditure.  This  was  cross-checked  against  an 

the  months 

Procurement 

Directives’. 

February 

Benefits 

(May), 

2010’ 

April 

the 

the 

of 

p 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
                                                 
authorities are estimated to be spending unnecessarily some €
of the restricted number of bidders caused by the reference to brand names. 

 1,1 billion per year9 as a result 

3. 

ICT SYSTEMS BASED ON STANDARDS VS PROPRIETARY ICT SYSTEMS 

Using ICT systems based on standards instead of proprietary technology will help to open up 
restrictive public procurement practices, because standards make essential knowledge about a 
system available to anyone, implying that other potential suppliers could maintain or evolve 
the system under more competitive terms and conditions. 

Besides the economic aspects there are other significant advantages for public authorities in 
switching  to  standards-based  ICT  systems,  as  also  recognised  in  the  eGovernment  action 
plan10. 

3.1. 

Interaction with citizens — efficiency gains and free choice 

Since standards consist of specifications that can be known by all interested parties, products 
and  services  from  different  producers  can  be  interoperable,  thus  making  it  easier  and  more 
efficient to integrate one public system with another for the exchange of data11. For example, 
this will make it possible for citizens to supply data only once to any public administration. 
When these same data are needed in other situations, they can be automatically retrieved and 
re-used,  making  interactions  between  citizens  and  public  authorities  more  efficient  at  local, 
regional, national and European level. If this same level of interoperability is to be achieved 
between non-standards-based systems, the cost and complexity will be significantly higher. 

Further, if proprietary products rather than standards-based products are used, this may limit 
access by citizens, who can only interact with public authorities if they have access to and use 
the  same  product12.  If  public  authorities  use  standards-based  products,  citizens  can  also  use 
another product that implements those standards. 

3.2. 

Interaction with other public authorities 

The  European  Interoperability  Framework  and  the  European  Interoperability  Strategy, 
explained in the Commission Communication ‘Towards interoperability for European public 
services’13,  depend  heavily  on  the  use  of  standards-based  ICT  systems.  Interoperability  is 
necessary  to  deliver  cross-border  eGovernment  services  that  citizens  and  businesses  need 

estimate  of  €
 54  billion  obtained  from  the  MAPPS  database  of  public  sector  ICT  contracts  based  on 
relevant IT CPV codes (which is likely to be an underestimate given the fact that only above-threshold 
contracts  are  published  in  the  OJEU,  and  that  not  all  IT-related  procurements  are  classified  under  IT 
CPV codes). 
If the number of bidders would double in 16% of the ICT procurements because they no longer refer to 
brand names (this is the lowest number mentioned in the studies referred to in Footnote 5) this would 
save 9% of 16% of € 78 billion per year, which equals € 1,1 billion per year. 
COM(2010) 743, available at 
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2010:0743:FIN:EN:PDF; 
http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/node/165. 
standards’  FLOSSPOLS  project, 
Ghosh,  R.A 
http://flosspols.org/deliverables/FLOSSPOLS-D04-openstandards-v6.pdf.  Hesser,  Czaya  and  Riemer 
(2007) ‘Development of standards’ in W. Hesser (Ed) Standardisation in Companies and Markets, pp. 
123-169, Hamburg: Helmut Schmidt University. 
http://www.epractice.eu/files/European%20Journal%20epractice%20Volume%2012_6.pdf. 
COM(2010) 744   
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2010:0744:FIN:EN:PDF. 

economic  basis 

for  open 

(2005) 

also 

‘An 

see 

9 

10 

11 

12 
13 

EN 

4 

   EN 

 
                                                                                                                                                         
 
when travelling/working/studying/doing business within the EU, and which underpin one of 
the  objectives  of  the  European  digital  single  market.  When  public  authorities  introduce 
standards-based alternatives it will be easier to develop the necessary cross-border services. 

3.3.  More innovation 

The  Directive  on  the  re-use  of  public  sector  information14  obliges  Member  States,  in  cases 
where  it  is  allowed  to  re-use  documents  of  public  sector  bodies,  to  make  these  documents 
available through electronic means15 where possible and appropriate.  

These  data  can  include  digital  maps,  meteorological,  legal,  traffic,  financial,  economic  and 
other  data,  and  also  the  Application  Programming  Interfaces  (APIs)  of  ICT  systems. 
Companies and citizens are then able to use the data and the systems of public authorities to 
develop new applications that are of use to society at large, help to drive greater growth and 
jobs, and also contribute to public sector innovation.  

If these data is made available in formats that correspond to common standards, it will greatly 
help  application  developers  to  ensure  that  their  applications  work  with  data  from  many 
different public authorities and that citizens can use these applications wherever they may be 
in Europe. 

In addition, an ICT system based on standards is easier to evolve and better able to deliver the 
future  services  that  public  authorities  are  expected  to  provide  to  citizens  in  an  efficient  and 
innovative  manner.  The  standards  deliver  the  necessary  hooks  that  anyone  with  ICT 
knowledge  can  use  to  build  add-ons  to  the  system  or  to  migrate  data  from  one  system  to 
another, thus increasing the potential for use. 

3.4. 

Lower costs for ICT suppliers 

ICT suppliers are also affected by lock-in. The 2011 Survey showed that the majority of ICT 
suppliers would also be in favour of more open procurement based on standards, as this would 
open  markets  to  all  of  them,  thus  increasing  the  competitiveness  of  the  EU  ICT  market. 
However,  it  is  clear  that  the  sales  prospects  of  certain  dominant  leading  suppliers  may  be 
adversely affected if new entrants are able to compete more effectively. 

Despite  the  advantages  for  the  majority  of  ICT  suppliers  of  using  standards-based 
procurement,  they  will  incur  costs  to  implement  and  use  standards  in  their  products  and 
services. This should be compared to their usual costs for the maintenance and evolution of 
their products  and  services. A survey carried out in 2012 among public authorities and ICT 
suppliers16 (2012 Survey) suggested that 30 % of stakeholders expect any cost increases to be 
more significant in the short run (provided public authorities maintain long-term consistency 
in the standards they apply). However, 41 % of respondents expect that the long-term costs of 
solutions will decrease, suggesting that ICT suppliers will also benefit in terms of decreased 
costs and better access to markets.  

14 

15 

16 

Directive 2003/98/EC, OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 90–96 
and for proposed updates: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/psi/index_en.htm. 
In its proposal for a Directive amending Directive 2003/98/EC, the Commission has proposed to replace 
the terms "electronic means" by "in machine readable format and together with their metadata". COM 
(2011) 877 final.  
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/ssai/docs/study-action23/study44-survey2results.pdf. 

EN 

5 

   EN 

 
                                                 
 
ICT  systems  based  on  standards  will  enable  more  interoperability,  innovation  and 
competition,  lower  costs  and  improve  interaction with  citizens.  They  will  be  the  basis  for  a 
new  generation  of  open,  flexible  and  collaborative  eGovernment  services  to  empower 
European citizens and businesses, as envisaged in the eGovernment Action Plan 2011-2015. 

4. 

GUIDE FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF STANDARDS-BASED ICT 

In  theory,  it  seems  simple  to  obtain  ICT  systems  based  on  standards  in  the  future.  All  that 
needs  to  be  done  is  to  ask  for  standards  when  procuring  new  licences  and  components.  In 
practice,  however,  a  significant  number  of  procuring  authorities  responding  to  the  2011 
Survey  stated  that  they  had  difficulties  in  using  standards  when  procuring  ICT,  with  just 
under 50 % citing a lack of expertise to decide which standards are relevant and appropriate 
for  the  particular  ICT  needs.  Therefore  it  is  important  to  help  procurers  overcome  these 
practical difficulties, so that they can use standards properly. 

Currently,  some  Member  States  (such  as  France,  Italy,  the  Netherlands,  the  UK,  Germany, 
Sweden,  Spain  and  Denmark17)  are  promoting  the  use  of  standards  in  ICT  public 
procurement. They are helping public authorities through practical guidance consisting of lists 
of recommended standards  for specific situations,  procurement guides  and  ready texts to be 
used in public procurement documents. Despite these best practices, only 25 % of respondents 
to  the  2012  Survey  had  access  to  this  type  of  advice,  which  suggests  a  need  to  develop 
guidance to reach out to more public procurers. 

The  European  Commission  has  identified  the  main  difficulties  public  authorities  face  when 
procuring ICT systems, and has collected the best practices of some of the Member States that 
are actively working to overcome these difficulties. These best practices are the basis for the 
‘Guide for the procurement of standards-based ICT, Elements of Good Practice’ (the Guide), 
which accompanies this Communication. 

The Guide consists of: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

17 

Advice  to  develop  an  ICT  strategy,  consisting  of  main  principles  to  be  followed 
within  a  country,  region  or  application  sector  to  make  ICT  systems  work  together 
and to provide an efficient service to citizens and other actors who work with public 
authorities. 

Advice to assess standards in a methodological, fair and transparent manner in order 
to choose which standards should be used to support the ICT strategy and to avoid 
lock-in.  This  is  a  continuous  activity  in  order  to  assure  that  when  new  and  better 
standards  become  available  they  will  be  used  instead  of  the  previously  chosen 
standards.  

Guidance on the best way to identify the ICT needs of a public authority and evaluate 
potential  ICT  systems  that  can  meet  these  needs,  including  consideration  of  user 
requirements. 

Advice on long-term budgetary planning in order to overcome higher up-front costs 
when trying to eliminate lock-in situations. 

http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/ssai/docs/study-action23/d2-finalreport-29feb2012.pdf. 

EN 

6 

   EN 

 
                                                 
• 

• 

Advice  on  how  to  engage  with  the  market  in  order  for  public  authorities  to 
understand the current market offer and, conversely, for the market to understand the 
future needs of the public authorities. 

Advice  on  how  to  develop  practical,  ‘ready  to  use’  guidance  (list  of  recommended 
standards for specific ICT applications, ready texts to use in procurement documents, 
training) that will help public authorities to write procurement documents that refer 
to the right standards in the right situation in the right way. 

The Guide also provides examples of best practice, and resources for procuring authorities to 
use in order to implement the advice. The Guide addresses all those who might be involved in 
the  public  procurement  of  ICT,  including  procurement  officials,  public-sector  chief 
information officers, and ICT experts providing assistance to public authorities. 

The Guide makes it very clear that the issues of resolving lock-in, using standards more and 
better, and having interoperable systems cannot be solved by individual procurers alone but 
need  to  be  part  of  an  overall  long-term  plan  at  the  appropriate  sectoral  and  organisational 
levels in order to ensure that ICT systems work together in an efficient manner. 

5. 

RELATED INITIATIVES 

There are several other initiatives at EU level to promote the use of standards: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

18 

19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 

The  proposal  adopted  by  the  European  Commission  for  a  Directive  on  the 
accessibility  of  the  websites  of  public  sector  bodies18,  where  it  is  foreseen  that  a 
harmonised  standard  will  be  built  upon  the  work  done  by  the  European 
Standardisation Organisations on the basis of mandate M/37619. 

The  portfolio  of  eGovernment  Large-Scale  Pilots  carried  out  under  the  EU 
Competitiveness and  Innovation Programme in the ICT Policy Support Programme 
(CIP  ICT  PSP),  in  which  application-specific  standards  are  recommended,  for 
instance for electronic procurement platforms20 and eIdentification21. 

The work of the eInvoicing22 multi-stakeholder platform in the context of the Single 
European Payment Area. 

The  Common  Assessment  Method  Standards  and  Specifications  (CAMSS)23, 
developed  under  the  ISA  programme  (Interoperability  Solutions  Programme  for 
European  Public  Administrations24),  providing  a 
for  assessing 
interoperability  standards  and  specifications,  and  sharing  the  results.  The  Guide 
promotes the use of CAMMS for the assessment of standards. 

framework 

http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/proposal-directive-european-parliament-and-council-

COM(2012) 721, see 
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2012:0721:FIN:EN:PDF 
and 
accessibility-public-sector-bodies-websites. 
http://www.mandate376.eu/ 
http://www.peppol.eu/. 
https://www.eid-stork.eu/. 
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/payments/einvoicing/index_en.htm. 
https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/fpfis/mwikis/idabc-camss/. 
http://ec.europa.eu/isa/index_en.htm. 

EN 

7 

   EN 

 
                                                 
 
 
• 

• 

Another ISA action, the National Interoperability Framework Observatory (NIFO)25, 
provides  observations  on  interoperability  activities  within  Europe.  It  focuses  on 
analysis  of  the  National  Interoperability  Frameworks,  which  can  be  seen  as  an 
important  basis  for  any  public  organisation’s  ICT  strategy,  as  advocated  by  the 
Guide. 

Furthermore,  a  recent  reform  of  the  European  standardisation  system26  now  allows 
contracting  authorities  to  formulate  the  technical  specifications  in  procurement 
documents by reference to ICT specifications produced by fora and consortia, which 
will be identified by the Commission after consultation – notably – of the European 
Multi-Stakeholder  Platform  on  ICT  standardisation,  whereas  before  it  was  only 
possible  to  refer  to  standards  or  specifications  promulgated  by  national,  European 
and international standards organisations. 

6. 

WHAT IF NO STANDARDS ARE AVAILABLE? 

For  some  new  types  of  applications  that  public  organisations  need  to  develop  to  cope  with 
important  societal  challenges,  such  as  ensuring  high-quality  affordable  healthcare  for  an 
ageing  population,  combating  climate  change  etc.,  the  necessary  standards  may  not  yet  be 
available.  In  such  cases,  public  authorities  could  potentially  engage  with  other  public 
procurers in pre-commercial procurement. This means procuring R&D services27 that enable 
the  public  sector  to  share  the  risks  and  benefits  of  undertaking  ground-breaking  R&D  with 
industry. It enables procurers to steer industry to respond to their needs, while comparing the 
pros  and  cons  of  competing  solutions  from  different  suppliers  (through  design,  prototyping 
and testing), without committing large deployment contracts to any single supplier. Suppliers 
can also be requested to take part in the relevant standardisation bodies to establish standards 
relating  to  the  results  of  the  R&D  for  the  pre-commercial  project.  The  European  Cloud 
Partnership28  is  one  example  of  pre-commercial  procurement  where  standards  are  being 
developed. 

7. 

PROCURING ICT BASED ON STANDARDS: THE WAY FORWARD 

The European Commission calls upon all public authorities in the Member States to use the 
Guide to help alleviate lock-in of their ICT systems, thus encouraging competition in Europe 
and  underpinning  the  development  of  the  European  digital  single  market,  including  by 
ensuring greater access to and use of public data and information. The European Commission 
will  also  apply  the  Guide  to  make  better  use  of  standards  in  its  own  ICT  systems  and  calls 
upon the other European institutions to follow suit. 

25 
26 

27

28 

L 

316, 

(EU)  No 

http://ec.europa.eu/isa/actions/04-accompanying-measures/4-2-3action_en.htm. 
Regulation 
12–33 
14.11.2012, 
1025/2012,  OJ 
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/european-standards/standardisation-policy/index_en.htm. 
Pre-commercial procurement is defined in COM/2007/799 and the associated staff working document 
SEC/2007/1668. 
COM(2012) 0529, p. 13 (key action 3), 
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg 
=EN&type_doc= COMfinal&an_doc=2012&nu_doc=529 
and 
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/cloudcomputing/europeancloudpartnership/index_en.
htm. 

and 

p. 

EN 

8 

   EN 

 
                                                 
 
 
 
 
 
It is expected that over time Member States, along with the European Commission and other 
European  institutions,  will  develop  more  specialised  versions  of  the  Guide  tailored  to  their 
own ICT strategies and their use of specific standards. Such an iterative approach is likely to 
bring increasing benefits in terms of cost savings and further opportunities for innovation and 
competition. 

A consultation on an earlier version of the Guide29 showed that the sharing of best practice is 
considered valuable by the majority of respondents, both those who currently have access to 
sources of best practice and those who do not. Over 90 % of both categories of respondents 
(or 71 % of the total sample) indicated that the sharing of best practice is or would be useful or 
very useful. 

In order to facilitate the sharing of best practice, the European Commission will support this 
initiative  by  organising  meetings  with  relevant  stakeholders  (public  authorities,  ICT  supply 
industry,  standards  organisations  and  civil  society),  supported  by  a  public  best  practice 
website. By sharing their experience on a regular basis, public organisations will learn from 
each  other,  adapt  to  best  practices  that  emerge,  look  into  common  problems  and  suggest 
common solutions. This sharing of best practice will ensure that the choices made in different 
Member  States  will  converge,  reducing  fragmentation  and  helping  to  ensure  a  real  digital 
single market. 

Further, the Commission will report on the outcome of this process, in particular: 

• 

• 

providing  relevant  information  on  the  ICT  procurement  processes  of  public 
authorities,  the  assessment  of  their  use  of  standards  in  ICT  procurement,  the 
development  of  practical  advice,  long-term  business  appraisals,  and  budgetary 
planning, 

reviewing  the  procurement  process  and  reporting  on  what  worked  and  what  could 
have been done better in order to encourage future best practices. 

This information and associated data could be complemented with an overview of statistical 
data on references to brand names in tenders, the number of suppliers participating in public 
procurement bids, and assessments of value for money of ICT procurement. 

The  actions  described  above  will  result  in  more  open  ICT  systems  based  on  standards  that 
should help to develop more efficient public ICT services that can evolve and adapt to future 
needs.  The  ICT  supply  industry  will  be  able  to  compete  to  offer  value  for  money  to  public 
authorities, and to offer innovative new services.  

29 

http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/ssai/docs/study-action23/study44-survey2results.pdf. 

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