Open Source Software for SMEs
On 25 September, the OpenForum Europe
[http://www.openforumeurope.org/] (OFE) presented their research Free
Open Source Software for SMEs - Policy Recommendations Report
[http://www.openforumeurope.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/FOSS4SMEs-Policy-Recommendation-Report.pdf]
for improving the policy environment for small- and medium-sized
enterprises
[https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/business-friendly-environment/sme-definition_en]
(SMEs) to succeed with Free and Open Source Software
[https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/informatics/open-source-software-strategy_en]
(FOSS).

SMEs are the economic backbone of most regions in Europe
[https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes_en]. However, currently, many
European SMEs are struggling to digitise their business, also due to
the lack of necessary skills. Digital skills have a decisive impact on
the economic development of a country and the European Commission has
recognised this fact by making digital skills one of the five pillars
of the Digital Europe Programme
[https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/digital-europe-programme-proposed-eu92-billion-funding-2021-2027].

To further leverage the potential of free open source software for
SMEs and the European economy and to close the skill gap, the OFE has
joined the Free and Open Source Software for SMEs (FOSS4SMEs)
consortium to develop a free digital learning course with the goal of
guiding SMEs to make strategic use of SMEs. This collaboration led to
the publication of the Policy Recommendations Report.

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Publication Date/Time
2019-10-07T07:00:00+00:00
OFE released their "Policy Recommendations for SMEs" to succeed with
free and open source software