It is time to take a hard look and open source software. It wasn’t so long ago that proprietary solutions such as UNIX and

Windows ruled the land but now more and more critical systems are being

run by open source software.

One of the main reasons to look at open source software (OSS) is the cost factor.

When you

realize the cost is significantly less and yet the software performs as

well as, if not better than the more costly software, the decision

becomes easier to make. Your TCO will not lie when implementing an open

source software solution. You will save loads of money on software that

will function properly.

Another

factor would be frustration with your current proprietary solution.

Whether you deal with maintenance costs, hard-to-work-with vendors, or

buggy applications, moving to OSS allows you to bypass the vendor and

look at the source code—to troubleshoot and write a fix immediately if

need be.

And,

if you cannot figure it out, you could pay for support through an open

source vendor or pop a question up on a local newsgroup.

Additionally,

security concerns with proprietary software coupled with performance

and reliability are also top issues to consider. OSS options such as

Linux are really making gains due to consumer’s lack of confidence in

proprietary alternatives.

As an

IT decision maker, all of these factors should provide you with an easy

decision to investigate OSS further. Even if you are not interested in

this movement at all, keep your proprietary vendors honest by

researching the possibilities. Your knowledge of what viable

alternatives are out there might end up saving you thousands of dollars

from nervous vendors scrambling to keep you out of the movement.

Why leave proprietary software? One of the most helpful business books that I have read in recent years was Who Moved My Cheese?

by Spenser Johnson. One of the central themes of that book is that you

can count on the fact that many things in your life will change.

But

that’s not what will determine your destiny. It is up to you whether or

not you will grow and adapt to the changes that come. The cheese in the

title of the book can symbolize the option of a move from proprietary

software to OSS.

You

can choose to be a person who is flexible and prepared to deal with

change and growth, or you can be rigid and waste your energy resisting

changes that are inevitable.

The

open source movement has moved the “cheese” of the IT industry in

America today. Many members of the IT community in the U.S. are quickly

starting to take notice of OSS. You can see this by the increased

number of certified individuals on the open source platform.

It’s

time you researched the possibilities. We are entering a world that is

getting more and more connected by all types of software. It only makes

sense that we are moving away from proprietary software and opening our

arms to OSS where everyone works together to develop the best product

possible and there are no hidden agendas.