Open source technologies can be traced back to the late 1970s when Richard Stallman, a former programmer at MIT A1 Laboratories, launched the GNU Project and Free Software Foundation. The ultimate goal of the GNU project was to produce a free operating system. Since then there has been some significant GNU projects such as Apache (a www Server), Perl (interpreted program language) Mozilla (a www browser) and Linux open source operating systems supported by companies such as Redhat Corporation.
Today’s commercial information system architectures are complex in nature with many commercial vendors providing solutions in the areas of document management, company intranet portals, knowledge management, incident tracking, business intelligent reporting just to name a few. In many of these cases, you will be able to find open source equivalents that provide similar functionality.
There is several advantages in using open source solutions, these can be categorised into two major benefits (1) cost advantages (2) operational and functional advantages. Open source solutions to a large extent do not possess any significant license implications however you would be utilising a subscription based costing model thereby reducing upfront costs. From a operational and functional aspect these solutions are based on the LAMP application stack (Linux Apache MySQL and PHP) which are proven and stable/reliable platforms. Secondly, if an organisation is satisfied with the functionality of the open source solution, the upgrade path is determined by the organisation and not pushed by a third party vendor organisation. In most cases, the upgrade of commercial information system solutions is a expensive and taxing exercise which most small to medium (SME) business do not possess the time or money to undertake.
Over the last few years, there has been some key acquisitions of open source companies, including Sun Microsystems purchase of MySQL for a USD $1 Billion, Yahoo’s acquisition of Zimbra for USD $350 Million, Microsoft’s purchase of SpringSource for an undisclosed amount and Oracle Corporation’s purchase of Sleepycat. This trend is supported by a leading consultancy organisations Gartner who predict that by 2012, 80 percent of all commercial software will include elements of open source technology. Gartner conclude by saying that “Many open sourced technologies are mature, stable and well supported. They provide significant opportunities for vendors and users to lower their total cost of ownership and increase returns on investment” (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-9863802-16.html).
Traditionally, one of the key barrier to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) adopting open source technology solutions has been due to the lack of support in implementing open source solutions. However, there are now many organisations which assist companies to translate their information technology landscape to utilise open source technology solutions. Open source technology solutions have also matured significantly during the last few years and can comfortably provide an effective alternative to commercial applications.
Open source technologies are particularly useful for companies that are seeking to re-structure their business processing. The advent of the internet has triggered the commercial market place for many companies to be global. Many SME’s are finding that with along with their global marketing exposure, certain business processes such as inventory management, product cataloguing accounting practices and logistics all require process improvement to compete in a competitive market. Open source solutions such as SugarCRM (open source customer relationship management application), OpenPro Inventory management software, and SQL Ledger (an double entry Enterprise Resource Planning software) provide solutions to improve these processes.
Any SME wishing to incorporate open-source technologies into their information system landscape should seek and partner with an open source solution vendor who can assist them in their open source journey.
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