MONTREAL — Open-source software, once the domain of reclusive programmers with long beards and conspiracy theories, is going mainstream.

Popularized by trendy Silicon Valley startups and evangelized by companies that offer maintenance and support, software once seen as buggy and risky is gaining respect in the private and public sector.

Even the Quebec government, long derided for its refusal to consider open-source solutions, is showing more interest, and companies are lining up to provide.

“There’s a lot less hostility towards open software than before. And that’s a big improvement,” said Cyrille Béraud, president of Savoir-faire Linux, a consultancy firm that helps organizations switch to open source systems.

Open-source software are programs whose inner workings — its source code — are publicly viewable and open for anyone to modify to their needs. Examples are the Linux operating system, the LibreOffice productivity suite, and the Drupal content management system.

They’re the opposite of proprietary software that is locked and charges a licence for use, like programs from Microsoft and Adobe.

Open-source programs are usually free of charge, but companies make money installing, supporting and maintaining open-source systems. These companies have reached a level of maturity that lets them properly service large organizations, and put to bed old misconceptions about the safety and reliability of open source.

One such company is the multinational Red Hat, one of the largest providers of open-source technologies, which recently held a half-day forum in Montreal. As more organizations move their information technology from the back server room to the cloud, the company wants to position itself as a provider, for companies and governments alike.

“Everyone is trying to save money in IT,” said Luc Villeneuve, president of Red Hat Canada. “And 80 per cent of IT costs is the licence. So with open-source you eliminate most of the cost out of the gate. The rest are support costs.”

Getting lucrative government contacts, at least in Quebec, might take a while. Although signs from the government have been encouraging for several years, there have been few concrete discussions with industry.

In 2011, a Liberal government passed Bill 133, which requires government agencies to consider open-source alternatives when making IT decisions. This makes Quebec the only province to have a legal framework for going open-source.

“The law helps us have right level of conversation with government,” Villeneuve said. However, this framework is stymied by a fractured IT ecosystem where provincial agencies have disparate systems with few shared services.

“In Quebec, the sales cycle is longer. We have to talk to more people, go ministry by ministry,” Villeneuve added.

Compare this to the federal government, which has a large central IT operation, and provinces like British Columbia and Ontario, which have been pushing harder for open source. Even the city of Montreal is lauded by observers for its steps toward openness in both information systems and the release of municipal data.

Part of this is cultural, and culture takes time to change. But Béraud points to yet another sign of optimism.

“There’s a big generational shift taking place. Baby boomers are retiring and new people taking over. They realize that the knowledge economy important, they grew up with the Internet, and they know the Internet was built on open software,” he said.

rrocha@montrelagazette.com

Twitter: robroc