The Roadmap for Open ICT Ecosystems

Introduction:

Technology’s transformative power has always been a source of great expectations and challenges. Today, globalization, fueled by information and communication technologies (ICT), is rapidly changing every society. Our drive towards globalization creates a new set of unique demands on government, business, and our everyday lives. Increasingly, decision makers in all fields are looking to technology to provide solutions and drive desired changes by commingling local, national and global resources in innovative ways. The fusion of technology and globalization has also produced a new way to adapt, innovate and grow in our changing world. A potent combination of connectivity, collaboration, access and transparency – or openness – is emerging. Governments and enterprises around the world are embracing it. This openness is helping governments, companies and individuals respond to the increasing requirements of our on-demand, high-speed world. As openness impacts an ICT ecosystem, it becomes a catalyst for unleashing newfound comparative advantage, invention, social development and market opportunities.

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, with the support of IBM Corporation and Oracle, has facilitated the creation of this Roadmap for Open ICT Ecosystems. Our hope is to provide policymakers, managers and other stakeholders from industry and civil society a user-friendly tool for understanding what open ICT ecosystems are, why they are embraced and how to evolve them. As a result, we hope to change how people see and manage ICT ecosystems and innovation. To do this, we needed global perspective from those with on-the-ground knowledge and hands-on experiences in such activities as developing ICT architectures, establishing government policies and studying global technology trends. We formed the Open ePolicy Group in February 2005 with members from every region of the world to share insights from governments, companies and organizations at the forefront of global technology.

By gathering compelling case studies and lessons learned from governments, industry and other stakeholders across the globe, members have provided practical insights that can help everyone move toward openness. The ROADMAP presents a coherent set of principles, best practices and case studies that can help create and sustain open ICT ecosystems.

I am grateful to each member of the working group for their support of this important project. They are truly the authors of this document, as well as the architects and visionaries for open ICT ecosystems.

We hope that the Roadmap will be a catalyst for changing mental models globally about ICT ecosystems and pathways to innovation. We consider this Roadmap a work in progress. It is our intent to share it with the broadest possible audience. We welcome your ideas, best practices and case studies, which will keep this Roadmap a vital, living tool.

Please visit the full Roadmap page for more resources and information.