Tech Company CTOs Meet with Government Officials about the Need for Technology Neutral Procurement Policies

Best way to spur innovation and economic growth is through a competitive marketplace

Washington, DC – September 22, 2009

Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) from the world’s leading computer software and hardware companies are in Washington today and tomorrow for the Business Software Alliance’s (BSA) fifth annual CTO Forum.

Each year, BSA brings CTOs together with senior Administration officials, Members of Congress, and other policymakers to discuss key issues affecting the industry. The executives participating in this year’s CTO Forum include:

  • Tom Malloy, Adobe
  • Bryan Barney, McAfee
  • Jeff Kowalski, Autodesk
  • Craig Mundie, Microsoft
  • Roger Thompson, AVG Technologies
  • Michael Fulkerson, Rosetta Stone
  • Patrick Gnazzo, CA
  • Chuck Grindstaff, Siemens
  • Charlie Huang, Cadence
  • Raj Nathan, Sybase
  • Richard Friedrich, HP
  • Mark Bregman, Symantec
  • Dave McQueeney, IBM

 


The CTOs are meeting with officials from the Obama Administration, including Commerce Secretary Gary Locke; Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra; Aneesh Chopra, Federal Chief Technology Officer; and Tom Kalil, Deputy Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. They are also meeting with key leaders in the US House of Representatives including House Republican Leader John Boehner; U.S. Representative Eric Cantor, Minority Whip; U.S. Representative Darrell Issa, Ranking Member, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee; U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. BSA CTOs will also be meeting with Rand Beers, Under Secretary of National Protection and Programs Directorate, Department of Homeland Security; and Casey Coleman, Chief Information Officer, General Services Administration.

“Good technology-neutral policies drive the economy, make businesses more competitive, and help address social concerns such as health care, the environment, education, and security by ensuring an environment in which IT can continue to develop innovative solutions to these issues” said Robert Holleyman, President and CEO of BSA. “Our member company CTOs strongly believe that the best role for government is to set ambitious goals, create incentives for innovation and investment, create an overall favorable business environment, and then stand back and allow companies to compete.”

During their meetings, the CTOs are presenting guiding principles for government acquisition of technology to maximize choice, competition, and innovation.

These principles include:

  • Competition spurs market innovation: The government’s acquisition of technology products and services should be impartial and based on open and inclusive competition, which will spur innovation in the market, foster integrity in public transactions, and guard against conflicts of interest.
  • Transparency fosters public trust: To protect the taxpayers’ interests the government should employ transparent acquisition and purchasing arrangements, take full life cycle and/or total ownership costs into its assessments, and avoid arrangements that create the appearance, if not the reality, of endorsement of a specific type of technology.
  • Technology neutral procurement criteria promote choice: Avoiding specific mandates for technology solutions or products in procurement and acquisition policies and practices will lead to a competitive market that allows technology companies to pursue various software development models and offers the broadest choice of products and services.

The principles in their entirety can be viewed at: http://www.bsa.org/~/media/Files/Policy/SoftwarePolicy/Government_
Acquisitions_Technology.ashx

About the Business Software Alliance

The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA members include Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, AVG, Bentley Systems, CA, Cadence, Cisco Systems, Corel, CyberLink, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, Dell, Embarcadero, HP, IBM, Intel, Intuit, McAfee, Microsoft, Minitab, Quark, Quest Software, Rosetta Stone, SAP, Siemens, Sybase, Symantec, Synopsys, and The MathWorks.

Media Contact

Lars Anderson
media@bsa.org
202-346-8811