It’s a question that many have asked themselves before. But the answer isn’t easy to find. However, it is important to address that question wisely, whether it is from software vendors point of view or final users’ point of view. In this article, I will discuss the question in general, without giving deep analysis, and later on go into detail, discussing aspects of open source model.
First, let’s list some of the open source projects linked with business (as I have mentioned above, we are not going to analyze open source tools and frameworks yet, we are just talking about business tools!)
CMS: WordPress, Alfresco, Joomla, Drupal etc.
DMS : Alfresco, OpenKM, KnowledgeTree etc.
ERP : OpenERP, OpenBravo, JFire, Adempiere, Erp 5 etc.
SHOP : osCommerce, Zen Cart, Magento, OpenCart, PrestaShop etc.
CRM : SugarCRM, OpenERP, vtiger etc.
DMS : Alfresco, OpenKM, KnowledgeTree etc.
ERP : OpenERP, OpenBravo, JFire, Adempiere, Erp 5 etc.
SHOP : osCommerce, Zen Cart, Magento, OpenCart, PrestaShop etc.
CRM : SugarCRM, OpenERP, vtiger etc.
Now, to apologize to those whose favorite solutions are left out. It isn’t because I don’t think of them as good solutions, but because I still didn’t have the chance to use them.
From now on, I will talk about each of the mentioned solutions separately.
Benefits of open source tool:
- lower initial investment, since costs of licenses are either very low or the licenses aren’t paid at all, because not only the company behind the project is involved in development, but the community as well
- transparency – if you purchase open source solution, it’s development can be continued by anyone interested in it, even the buyers themselves. There is no chance that the problem of tool supplier will leave you without further support and development.
- buyers can develop modules of open source tools on their own, under the condition they have the resources needed (companies with IT sections)
- bugs are repaired faster since the repair is done by a community, and after that all buyers are provided with patches
- the level of safety is higher because the community works on removing safety holes that are visible to everyone
- buyers can change supplier at any given moment if they are dissatisfied and find another one from any place in the world
Drawbacks of open source tool:
- documents can often be incomplete and not updated, which makes it easier to develop a problem. Then, you have to search for a solution through the community, which can be frustrating since buyers need the solution immediately
- support can be a problem because many provide services of implementing and maintaining open source systems without being sufficiently equipped to do so
- users’ interface in open source solution is often put in the background which brings about situations where we have to work hard on it to get satisfying solutions
This was a short list of reasons pro and con open source. In the period that is coming I will deal with these items even more, but for now, just listing them is enough.
