Companies choosing open source must not be led by cost reduction alone

'It is important that you remain in control'

10 February 2009 - The economic crisis has forced many companies to reduce their spending and the ICT department hasn’t been spared. More and more often companies are turning to open source software to reduce costs. However, if companies aren’t careful this cost saving measure can actually lead to more expenses. Companies must consider the management and maintenance aspects of using open source.

The essence of open source software is that the source code is freely available and it is based on open standards. Because no one exclusively owns the source code, other parties can use, change and expand the software for free. ‘The idea of paying for licenses is outdated,’ says Fedor Wiedenhof, programmer at HintTech, the eBusiness technology firm.

Wiedenhof has other doubts as well: ‘Moving over to open source without licenses and also without support and the necessary knowledge base is not a water-tight alternative to current solutions. Companies that download open source and think they are finished will almost certainly run into problems.’

The message from HintTech is clear. ‘If attention isn’t paid to quality, support and management, the costs after some time will become unmanageable. It is important that companies thoroughly think through and then purposefully choose for open source. Wiedenhof: ‘People must not forget that open source requires more effort and technical background knowledge than standard software packages where a person can download and directly begin working.’

Key Questions:

The answers to the following questions can help make a sound choice according to Wiedenhof:

Is open source software reliable and will my employees know how to handle it?
Is there commercial support for this product or is the knowledge in house?
Do I want to take the technical direction or responsibility for the software or do I outsource it?

The last question is, in the eyes of Wiedenhof the most important when deciding not to switch over to open source: ‘There are two options. If a person maintains control than they can use their own insight to make adjustments. With outsourcing the person must pay for the required functionality and adjustments. There are more than enough examples of companies that gave away too much technical responsibility and their projects were stranded. For example, take the messages in the Dutch media about the Tax Authority and you know why you need to stay in control.’

A second essential aspect that people need to think about concerns the maintenance, management and support. ‘If companies choose for open source they must, if they want to do it well, invest in the knowledge of their own employees,’ according to Wiedenhof. ‘Companies must take care that the knowledge of the open source software is in house or available through the people they hire or through a partner - as long as they keep the control in their own hands.’

In contrast to knowledge about commercial software, the knowledge of open source products is often easier to grasp. Wiedenhof: ‘For example: a Ferrari is nice, but you can’t go to Quick-Fit with it; you are tied to a specialist that knows how it works and who has the right tools. A simpler, accepted (read: open source) auto also handles well and can be repaired by any mechanic.’

About HintTech

HintTech is a specialist in e-business technology (.Net, Java platform, Tridion) and IT projects. The company was started in 1997 and works with innovative and proven technologies and methods. HintTech provides qualitative custom solutions for their customers. For Tridion, Microsoft, Sun J2EE and IBM WebSphere, HintTech is an advisor as well as partner. HintTech counts Shell, Nuon, Fortis, ING and KLM as clients. It currently employs 117 people and has offices in Delft (Netherlands), San Francisco (US) and Novi Sad (Serbia).