GovernmentVAR of the Week: Devis

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Why We Noticed: open source

It took a while for government to come around to the concept of open source. When they did, Devis was there waiting -- developing solutions using a variety of open-source languages, operating systems, database servers, Web servers and so on. And now, as the market finally catches on to what Gallagher and his colleagues have known for almost 10 years, Devis is experiencing double-digit revenue growth.

"There are two big pressures that are dovetailing into a 'Perfect Storm' -- reduced IT budgets clashing with demand for better data integration at lower cost," Gallagher says. "This tsunami has called for a [service-oriented architecture] rescue that is inevitably driving government toward commercial open-source software. Open source is built on standards, and because you have the source code it is by definition more agile --all good attributes for integrating functionality across the Net."

That has helped Devis save government clients millions of dollars by delivering Internet applications and Web sites that use commercial open source. As a reward for thinking outside of the box, the Department of Labor chose Devis' DisabilityInfo.gov portal as the exemplary e-government project in its annual report to OMB. The governmentwide system, which connects people with disabilities to the information and resources they need to actively participate in the workforce and in their communities, saved the federal government more than $20 million.

But don't expect Devis to sit back. A more recent focus for the company is software-as-a-service (SaaS). The company developed SaaS products for global project management and another for Web content management. Devis sells the offerings for a fixed price that guarantees performance without requiring hardware or software purchase.

In other words, Devis isn't afraid to be ahead of the curve. "Clearly the government could save massively via shared components and vertical applications that are common among agencies," Gallagher says. "Once government begins looking at reuse potential of commercial open source, it will be inevitable that what we call 'public infostructure' begins to remake the pricing structure for e-government in general. It is going to be exciting."