Why Open Source

Why not? But seriously, folks, WHY should anyone go open source? What benefit does it provide?

How Stuff Works says, "developers who support the open source concept believe that by allowing anyone who's interested to modify the source code, the application will be more useful and error-free over the long term...A common concern for end-users who wish to use open source software is the lack of a warranty and technical support. Because the software's license encourages modification and customization, it is nearly impossible to support."

Computer Economics did a survey of its visitors. When asked why they liked open source, the top response wasn't "free as in beer" but rather "free as in speech." "The survey indicates that IT decision makers value "reduced dependence on software vendors" as the most important advantage of open source. This indicates that software buyers must feel some level of dependence on proprietary software vendors, from which they desire freedom...Our survey indicates that vendors of proprietary software are missing the mark when they argue that open source software has a higher total cost of ownership, is less secure, or higher risk in terms of ongoing support.  These factors, although important, are not the key concern of software buyers.  The key appeal of open source software is that it avoids vendor lock-in and gives buyers the freedom to choose what to do and when to do it."

Computer Economics also said that, "Businesses that implement open source ERP, CRM, and other business applications generally achieve strongly positive return on investment (ROI)...Sixty-five percent of the early adopters achieved positive ROI within two years and another 30% broke even on their investments, according to the research firm's annual survey of about 200 IT organizations. Only 5% reported negative ROI...According to the survey, 6% of organizations have deployed open source applications but have no further plans to expand them. Another 7% are expanding their use of open source applications, while almost 10% are deploying open source applications for the first time. About 21% are researching or piloting such projects, while 56% have no activity underway whatsoever. "While the adoption of open source business applications remains low, the number of first-time implementers compared to the small base of early adopters indicates that the growth rate is relatively high," Longwell said. "Open source advocates can also take some comfort in the fact that 44% of organizations are at least researching or piloting open source applications."