Open Standards

Definition: Open standards are those specifications for hardware or software that are developed by a standards organization or a consortium involved in supporting a standard and which anyone can adopt or use.

What This Means: Open standards are available to anyone. Complying with open standards implies that an existing component in a system or a product can be replaced with one from another vendor. Education agencies conforming to open standards have alternative commercial sources for products that are compatible with any other products complying with the same standards. This can save significant initial procurement or replacement costs.

A proprietary standard has been developed by a single vendor who controls the use of that standard. Products using proprietary standards typically do not work with or exchange data easily with open standards or other proprietary standards.”

Need another definition?