These standards enable software to interoperate through open protocols and allow the exchange of data between data stores and software through open data and document formats. Standards for internal processing within hardware (including telecommunications hardware), which are not relevant to external interfaces, are out of scope. This policy describes principles for the selection and specification of open standards which can be implemented in both open source and proprietary software. For information on the Government’s open source policy see the Cabinet Office Open Source Procurement Toolkit5 .