Protecode and the NHS Announce Winner of Code4Health Open Source Software Competition

    OTTAWA, ON, November 07, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Protecode, an innovative provider of open source license management systems, together with the British National Health Service (NHS), and Source Code Control Limited, today announced the winner of the Code4Health Competition, aimed at identifying quality software projects within the NHS's Code4Health Custodian model.

The competition was introduced to highlight governance and security vulnerability issues that Code4Health collaborators need to consider as they develop and contribute software to the community. Applications were judged based on several attributes including software project structuring, copyright and Intellectual property considerations, security vulnerabilities, and license compliance in open source software (OSS).

Among the projects submitted to the Code4Health competition, OpenEyes , an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) application, led by Moorfields Eye Hospital, was selected as the overall winner. Protecode's analysis of the submitted OpenEyes project revealed a well-structured, copyrighted open source project that uses other OSS subprojects with no license compatibilities issues, and was free from security vulnerability concerns.

"This is all part of our drive to debunk some of the security and other myths surrounding open source software and its use, particularly in health and care settings," said Peter Coates, programme head of NHS Code4Health. "What a great way to give recognition to those individuals and organisations working so hard to drive development and deliver well-engineered open source software solutions for our health and care economies. Congratulations to all of the entrants, and particularly to the OpenEyes Development Team. Our ambition is to repeat and build on this particular Code4Health challenge to further raise awareness of the professionalism surrounding the development of open source software for health and care."

"We were delighted to see the breadth and quality of software projects submitted within the Code4Health custodian model. We consistently noticed the use of good coding practices with attention paid to minimizing risks by managing both security vulnerabilities and licensing obligations," said Mahshad Koohgoli, CEO of Protecode.

All Code4Health competition applicants privately received a report that identified open source and other third party components, any security vulnerabilities, in addition to highlighting ownership, and licensing attributes within the code portfolio of their submission.

About Protecode
Protecode provides products and services for managing open source software vulnerabilities. Protecode solutions enable accurate and fast code scanning in real-time and on-demand, delivering policy-based reports on obligations and security vulnerabilities in code portfolios. Built for ease-of-use, integration, and minimal intrusion into existing development processes, Protecode products are deployed in hundreds of organisations worldwide, from just a few developers to multinational organisations with more than 100,000 employees. Protecode is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with reseller partners worldwide.

# # #