A look at how the private sector can get best practice advice, learn from the public sector and avoid the vicious cycle of vendor lock-in while benefiting from the transformation towards open architectures.

1. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Open Architectures
- lessons from the
public sector
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
02/07
A look at how the private sector can get best practice advice,
learn from the public sector and avoid the vicious cycle of
vendor lock-in while benefiting from the transformation
towards open architectures.
Minimum size
25mm

2. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Open Standards: Open
Opportunities - flexibility and
efficiency in government IT
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
02/07
From 1st November 2012 Francis Maude, Minister for
Cabinet Office, announced that all government bodies must comply with Open
Standards Principles, an agreed set of standards to make government IT more
open, more cost-effective and better connected.
“Government must be better connected to the people it serves and partners
who can work with it - especially small businesses, voluntary and community
organisations. Having open information and software that can be used across
government departments will result in lower licensing costs in government IT,
and reduce the cost of lock-in to suppliers and products.” – Francis Maude
Minimum size
25mm

3. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
Definitions of Open Standard and
Open Architecture
02/07
An Open Standard is a publicly available standard – often
for interfaces – and systems that comply with it should be
able to interoperate appropriately.
An Open Architecture applies to a system in which the
architecture is published in sufficient detail to enable
change and subsequent evolution through the introduction
or replacement of modules and/or components from any
supplier.
Minimum size
25mm

4. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
A world without standards
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Minimum size
25mm
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
02/07
What would the world be like without standards?
Imagine if when you bought a car you could only use fuel from a certain garage. You have
a Shell garage within a couple of miles of your house so you buy a car that can run on
Shell fuel.
Now what happens if Shell decide to push their prices up out of line with the other fuel
vendors? Well you could change your car in protest but the cost of change would likely
outweigh the benefit you might yield from an alternative vendor.
And what if you wanted to move house and the nearest Shell station was 50 miles away?
The hassle and expense of incorporating a 100 mile round trip to fill the car up, or the
cost of changing the car might be enough to persuade you not to move. You’re locked in.

5. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
Locked in
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
Vendor lock-in is when customers are dependent on a single
manufacturer or supplier for products and cannot move to another
vendor without substantial costs and/or inconvenience. This
dependency is typically a result of standards that are controlled by
the vendor.
02/07
The term is commonly used in the computer industry to refer to
the situation that can occur due to a lack of compatibility between
different hardware, operating systems or file formats. Such
incompatibility can be intentional or unintentional.
Minimum size
25mm

6. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
The costs of lock-in can be severe.
They can include:
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
02/07
Substantial inconvenience and expense of converting data to other formats
and converting to more efficient, secure and inexpensive application
programs and operating systems.
A lack of bargaining ability to reduce prices and improve service.
Vulnerability to forced upgrades.
The corruption, or even loss, of critical data while attempting to convert it.
The best way for an
organisation to avoid becoming
a victim of vendor lock-in is to
use products that conform to
free, industry-wide standards.
Minimum size
25mm

7. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
02/07
Vendor Lock-in
Vicious Cycle
Evaluate closed standards
software from Vendor X without
consideration of switching costs
Minimum size
25mm

8. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
02/07
Vendor Lock-in
Vicious Cycle
Add to that a reluctance to
change due to incumbent skills
and relationships
Minimum size
25mm

9. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
02/07
Vendor Lock-in
Vicious Cycle
Buy closed standards software
from Vendor X
Minimum size
25mm

10. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
02/07
Vendor Lock-in
Vicious Cycle
Switching costs to Vendor Y +
Vendor Y software costs > than
Vendor X software costs
Minimum size
25mm

11. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
02/07
Vendor Lock-in
Vicious Cycle
Organisational requirements
change/develop
Minimum size
25mm

12. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
02/07
Vendor Lock-in
Vicious Cycle
Preferable solution from Vendor
Y is not interoperable with
Vendor X software
Minimum size
25mm

13. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
02/07
Vendor Lock-in
Vicious Cycle
Additional functionality required
from Vendor X is very expensive
and/or not best fit
Minimum size
25mm

14. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
It’s not about the mandate
The mandate has doubtless caught
the attention of many government
organisations but most are motivated
by the carrot not the stick.
John Lacey, Sales and Marketing Director at Ubertas
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
02/07
Minimum size
25mm

15. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
Benefits
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
Independent research* into the specific benefits of the policy
identified the following:
Reduction in lock-in and associated switching costs.
Reduction in the size and duration of IT projects and the
sharing and reuse of IT across departments.
Encouraging innovation and opportunities for smaller
companies to participate in contracts.
Improving business and consumer interface with
government.
* Centre for Intellectual Property & Policy Management at
Bournemouth University
02/07
Minimum size
25mm

16. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
Private Sector Benefits
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
The private sector has no mandate, but never have organisations
been more motivated to reduce costs, drive innovation and
improve their customers’ experience. These benefits are all
available with transformation towards Open Architectures.
Councils, Police forces, NHS Trusts and academic institutions are
already on the journey.
02/07
Minimum size
25mm

17. www.ubertas.co.uk
At the centre of our identity is the
Ubertas logo.
The logo should always be shown
in its entirety and in these colours
except where the logo appears on
imagery or flat colour. A guide to
this appears later in this document.
The logo should never be reduced
by more than the minimum size.
The Ubertas logo is made up of
two distinctive elements. These
elements must always appear
as shown and never separated.
Master artwork of the logo is
available on request. The logo must
never be re-created. Always request
master artwork from the Ubertas
brand team.
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02/07
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www.ubertas.co
.uk
www.ubertas.
co.uk
02
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Minimum size
25mm