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June 02, 2006
Open Source and RF*s
Matt has some good advice for young Open Source companies on the subject of RFPs and RFIs. Not only is this advice for Open Source vendors, but also for Open Source SIs (System integrators). I have spent many a day answering RF*s and trying to fit an Open Source based offering into something that will resemble what the requestor seems to be looking for. More often than not, it is obvious that RF*s were written as a way of comparing commercial product scenarios with fixed licensing and "tick-the-box" feature sets.
Today, it is still difficult to answer an RF* with an Open Source based offering in a way that will get you past the first hurdle. Some companies have very strict rules on how they want the RF* answered and being able to present the many advantages of an Open Source offering in an anonymous document often requires creative thinking on your part.
Organizations need to adjust their RF* process so that there is more room for a "try before you buy" period in the project and more room for an Open Source vendor to describe the advantages of the Open Source offering without being dismissed for not having ticked all the boxes in the requested feature matrix.
Posted by Matthew at June 2, 2006 10:04 AM