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February 24, 2005
What's the real advantage of Open Source?
Matt Asay, Open Source strategist for Novell, writes in this article that distribution, not low cost, is the real advantage of Open Source. He argues that the distribution model for Open Source allows people interested to just "try it out" without fear of locking themselves into a vendor or product.
The ability to just try the Open Source out without worrying "what the managers think" is something that mirrors my own experience. A couple of years ago we consulted for a large company who were building a major solution on Cocoon. We wanted to get them to write an article about how they were using the Open Source XML platform in a major corporation (there weren't that many, 2 years ago). However they wouldn't. Mainly because, as they told us over coffee - quietly, their managers didn't really know that they were using Open Source - yet. They were "scared" that the whole thing wouldn't work, and so wanted to wait until the whole solution was live without problems ("for a few months") before telling anyone - even internally. So, being able to just try it out was what they saw as their main advantage - circumventing the official (drawn-out) buying channels in the company.
A company I visited last week told me that the ability to change the software to meet their needs was actually the greatest advantage they saw in using Open Source. By changing and adapting the Open Source framework they were able to get it to do "what they needed" quickly.
Another reason I heard lately was the fact that the Open Source project in question supported specific standards that the company "rule-makers" required.
What I mean to imply with this list is the fact that I don't think there is really one real advantage to Open Source. There are many - and understanding where the advantage for your particular customer lies - is key to success.
Posted by Matthew at February 24, 2005 10:07 PM