BDM Architecture Principle 6: Principle: Open Solutions and standards. Statement: Open solutions by default, proprietary by exception. SaaS and COTS that support open standards are considered open solutions. Open source will be considered where appropriate. Rationale: In an ideal scenario, solutions (or their components) are interoperable and substitutable: each one can be substituted easily and independently. This can be achieved only when solutions support open standards. Implications: • Open standards and industry best practices are and will continue to be embedded in BDM architecture and functional and non-functional requirements. • Proprietary solutions that do not support open standards or are not substitutable for any reason must be identified and granted an exception by BDM-ARC and EARB. Note on open standards and open source software (Reference: Open Standards Whitepaper on GitHub): The following criteria define open standards: process for the standard's development is open and transparent to all interested parties and cannot be controlled by any single person or entity with any vested interests; platform independent, vendor neutral and usable for multiple implementations; specifications and supporting material are freely available with limited restrictions; supported by the community and demonstrate independence or approved through due process by rough consensus among participants. Open source software (OSS) is a way of developing and distributing software. The code is often written collaboratively, and it can be downloaded, used and changed by anyone. Open source software (OSS) and open standards are separate concepts, however there are strong ties between them. OSS tends to use and help define open standards and publicly available specifications. OSS are, by their nature, publicly available specifications, and the availability of their source code promotes open, democratic debate around their specifications, making them both more robust and interoperable.