Continuing Open Source Technology Inroads

Evidence is mounting that open source technology adoption is picking up steam. If you use Mozilla Firefox as your web browser or using OpenOffice.org for your word processing, spreadsheets, presentation and desktop database needs then you are using open source technology. As a matter of fact, open source is what is driving innovation in information technology today.

In Europe, a recent report stated that over 30% of users are now using Firefox and growing daily. The percentage is highest in the Scandinavian countries. That makes sense because that is the area where Linux originated. The percentages are much higher than I expected so early in 2006. Back in May 2005, 10% of business users were using Firefox. Eight months later in January 2006, I think this figure is now approaching the 20% mark and according to this site, that mark was attained in December 2005.

Not only is open source use expanding, realized cost savings for its use is now becoming more widely accepted. "Consultants report corporations embracing, saving with open source". This is not a panacea for reducing costs since there are inherent additional cost involved with open source technology adoption. If you have the skills with Linux and have a good intelligent team that can readily assimilate the technology and make good decisions then you will probably realize similar cost savings.

Another benefit to open source technology is innovation. With open source technology, you are only limited by your motivation, knowledge and ability to apply your skills to solve business problems or create new products. This cycle inspires the creativity required to innovate with information technology. With many proprietary technologies you are limited by concerns like

• Do you have legal licenses?


• Are the licenses expired?


• Do you have enough licenses?


• Do you have the funding to get licenses?


• Do you have time to justify the cost for the licenses?


• When will you acquire the technology so you can put it to use?

All the above just creates roadblocks to innovation in my opinion. Instead of focusing on innovative solutions you tend to focus on the licensing costs. This is discussed with respect to the weapons and defense industry in "Why open source works for weapons and defense".

I made the complete jump to using, integrating and researching open source technology a few years ago and can gladly report that all these facts, figures, percentages and postings are all real based on my experience. I can confidently state that running a business heavily utilizing open source technology is possible today in 2006. If this was not the case, Google, IBM, Yahoo!, and Amazon would not be succesful today. It is also well known that these companies spend millions on research and development of open source technology. As a matter of fact these are the types of companies that are primarily funding and driving the open source revolution.

There are scenarios where propietary technologies are much more mature and solve the business problem better. This is particularly true in the multimedia and groupware arena. However, in these areas of open source technology, I am seeing evolutionary improvements that I am sure in the near future rival the proprietary products. This viewpoint is also discussed in Open Source's Commercial Future.

Open source technology does have its own types of associated hidden costs and requires much more skill than proprietary solutions. However, mitigating these costs requires doing your homework, assembling a skilled team and making sure you know your business requirements. Having the skilled open source personnel on staff is a must. Acquiring these skills takes a different breed of knowledge worker. Open source technology is definitely not Windows and it requires good multi-dimensional people to make it work.