News
 Why
You Should Go for Open Source Solutions
Are you using an open source application? It looks
like not so many IT professionals are doing so – and
they probably should – so states a recent survey
from the Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG).
Here’s what you need to know.
About nine percent of respondents to this survey say
that a majority of their enterprise applications are
open source. Two out of three say that there is some
open source in their enterprise stacks, but in most
cases, they do not encompass more than 10 percent of
their enterprise application portfolios.
According to the survey, while the philosophy and
intent of open source is to enable users to dig into
the code and make modifications as they see fit, few
enterprises at this time are doing so. Most open
source deployments are still at the
edge-of-the-enterprise applications, such as Web
servers or single-function servers, versus core
enterprise application areas such as ERP. Open
source middleware or application servers are most
likely to see enterprise-class deployments, the
survey reports.
There are many reasons to go with open source
solutions, but the original advantage of open source
– its low or non-existent up-front acquisition price
– continues to drive adoption to this day. Overall,
the survey finds, a majority of open source users
(57 percent) say costs savings is their greatest
motivation for going with this type of software.
Another 24 percent cite the favorable licensing
options of open source, which is related to the low
start-up costs associated with the software. Another
22 percent of respondents say open source software
tends to be more reliable than many proprietary
commercial solutions, citing better performance and
uptime. In addition, 22 percent say maintenance
around open source software is an advantage – often,
fixes or upgrades are readily available through the
community, versus relying on a single vendor’s
release schedule, the survey states.
Advanced users of open source solutions tend to
reinforce the cost-savings aspect, as well as the
performance aspect of the software. More than nine
out of 10 users with three or more years experience
with open source say cost savings is an important
benefit, versus 68 percent of those just starting
their open source implementations. Along with the
increased licensing options open source offers,
about 41 percent of experienced users also mention
the enhanced performance offered.
According to the report, only 26 percent of
beginners have seen the advantages of performance so
far. The greater agility offered through open source
is another plus. “Open source also allows for more
flexibility and customization by corporations
to tailor to their specific business needs,” said
one respondent.
But there are concerns that need addressing with
open source, the survey states. The largest number
of respondents, in fact, says maintenance and
support are important issues that open source does
not address as effectively as commercial products.
More than a third of respondents, 35 percent say
that maintenance and support is getting more
difficult. In a related matter, another third of the
group, 32 percent, say that open source solutions
lack enterprise-grade support that many commercial
packages offer. Security is also an issue for 28
percent of respondents.
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