Footwear Industry Footwear Industry - empirica

Footwear
between companies is increasing fast, even in sectors with a comparatively low use of
ICT; second, that there are still unsolved problems with regard to the compatibility of
systems and standards. These considerations confirm the importance of interoperability
for companies using e-business.
Call for action to improve interoperability of ICT systems in the footwear
industry
A conclusion from the findings presented in this section is that the rather significant level
of experienced interoperability challenges could be linked to the low deployment of e-
standards. If so, this calls for activities to amend the situation in order to encourage and
facilitate e-business uptake among the industry. Projects aiming at enhancing
interoperability for the exchange of computerised data should therefore be supported.
Furthermore, efforts should continue to establish standards for product classification and
to spread XML standards, since this could open up new possibilities for SMEs.
In this context, it is important to ensure that the requirements of small firms are properly
advocated, since these companies often do not have knowledge and resources to get
involved in these activities. Moreover, in light of the challenging economic situation of the
footwear industry, it is important to ensure that any activity is based on a long-term
approach and on a strategic vision but is also able to bring short-term achievements. With
this respect, particular efforts should be made on adequate implementation of
interoperability in this industry.
3.3.3 Use of Open Source Software
The open source model
Open source software (OSS) refers to computer software under an open source license.
An open-source license is a copyright license for software that makes the source code
available and allows for modification and redistribution without having to pay the original
author. In the past years, the public awareness of OSS has grown steadily, with the
operating system Linux (an alternative to proprietary operating systems such as
Windows) being the best-known project. Besides Linux, other OSS such as the database
mySQL or the Internet browser Firefox (a spin-off of the Mozilla browser) have achieved
significant market shares.
Policy makers are interested in monitoring OSS developments and the uptake among
companies for several reasons. There is some debate and different views on whether the
use of OSS based operating systems could possibly reduce ICT costs for SMEs, at least
in the long run. Another aspect is whether OSS systems may help to "unlock" companies
from specific ICT service providers in the future.
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