Washington, D.C. - July 16, 2002 - Hewlett-Packard (HP) has committed to becoming a major industry sponsor of the Open Source Software Institute (OSSI). As part of the commitment, HP will help sponsor OSSI's ongoing Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Navy.

The announcement was made during an OSSI presentation to the Open Source & eGovernment seminar hosted by the General Service Administration's Office of Governmentwide Policy, Next Generation Strategies and George Washington University's Cyberspace Policy Institute. The meeting was held at the National Science Foundation facilities in Arlington, VA. "HP's commitment to OSSI clearly demonstrates the building momentum of open-source software within enterprise-level users, industry solutions providers and government entities," said OSSI chairman John M. Weathersby. "We look forward to HP's participation on the NAVOCEANO CRADA project and with other projects we will be launching in the near future."

OSSI has joined with the Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (CNMOC) to perform a technical study of the usage of open-source software within the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) based at the Stennis Space Center.

Preliminary findings from the study have indicated wide and accepted usage of open-source software within NAVOCEANO's enterprise-level systems.

The Open Source Software Institute (www.oss-institute.org) is a non-profit organization who's mission is to promote the development and implementation of open-source software solutions within U.S. Federal, state and municipal government agencies and academic entities.