Business
owners and companies who choose to use open source software usually do so
because open source solutions promise significant savings; this might be true. However, open-source solutions can end up costing more in the long
run for maintenance purposes.
Companies
preparing to take the plunge into the wonderful world of open source
software should answer the following questions before choosing an open-source
solution:
Who’s going to maintain your software installation?
Open-source software options are
alluring because it’s cheap to obtain and requires
minimal start-up costs. Just because it’s
cheap to get started, doesn’t mean these savings will be consistent in the
future. So many things can happen after the software is up and running. It pays
in spades to consider the possibility of
future complications. After all, change is the only constant when it comes to
business and technology. Company dynamics can change; IT personnel can change
too. If team members leave, open-source software could be orphaned.
Investing in appropriate training
for personnel and never rely too heavily on one team member. Doing so can be a costly mistake. Businesses that
choose to utilize open source technology must always be aware of ensuring a
continued ability to maintain software.
Who’s handling support services for open source solutions?
Maintenance is one aspect of the
triune requirements of open source solutions. Most
open-source software requires support, subscriptions, and maintenance. Paid
software options typically include this in the price of the software.
Of course, many companies offer
several different versions of support. Choosing an opensource solution means
you’ll be handling support issues in-house. The software may not cost the
business a dime, but the business must
ensure that in-house resources have the capability of handling most software
maintenance issues. It’s important to note that some major open source projects
do offer support subscriptions for a fee. If
this is the case, it would be a wise decision to opt for paying for
support.
Who’s going to handle software updates?
Is there a plan in place to
designate someone to keep up with software updates, bugs, and fixes? What if something
goes wrong? Who’s handling backups and restorations? These are things to
consider long before a problem occurs; the chances
are good that something will go wrong at some point.
Again, training for personnel is a
crucial factor in making opensource software a cost-effective solution. There
are numerous support forums with fixes, solutions, and tutorials that can cover
many problems IT might encounter, but having a certain level of skill is
necessary to make using open source solutions worthwhile.
Additionally, before downloading
opensource software, check out the site’s forums and blogs. Are they open to
providing support, or do people who ask questions repeatedly get flamed or
ignored? Forums are indicative of the
level of help available should a problem occur.
Who’s in charge of keeping the code updated?
One
of the biggest selling points for using open source software is having
the ability to modify the code to meet company needs. Of course, these
modifications must be coded into future
updates. Is there someone ready and willing to handle this?
Companies should also consider the
complexity of the software before making
changes. Having one staff member change code and
expecting others to fix issues or add the code to newer versions of the software
can seem next to impossible when the task must be
done right then.
Before changing any code, the
following should be considered:
Contribute to the Open Source Community
Don’t make any massive changes to
code without considering contributing the
code back to the community. Having these incorporated
into newer versions can save companies time and future headaches if future
modifications are necessary.
Determine if Maintaining the Code is Realistic
If an organization has the right
people with the right skills, investing in open source can be a win-win
situation for everyone. If that isn’t the case, then choosing open source can
lead to a financial disaster.
Essentially, before using an opensource
solution, it’s best to understand the software and its complexity. Without an
adequate understanding, it’s easy to run into problems and the need to fix
these issues with more expensive solutions. Avoiding this scenario altogether
is the best bet. Consider the total costs
involved in using an opensource software solution before you choose to run with this option.
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