The decision to go for Open Source can not be based on thin air or personal preferences. When companies decide to go for Open Source software, there has to be a very good reason. We give you five that can be of importance to you.

Reason One: Costs

Most people focus on costs. Costs are important. Open Source shines in costs, because there are no license fees to pay. For commercial software, you have to. Point for Open Source. But how important is this? Actually, compared with the rest of the costs - preparation, implementation, hosting, maintenance - it's just the top of an iceberg. License fees can be very important. Just look at the ERP market, which will prove my point. For 'bought' software, it really doesn't matter that much. MS Office or OpenOffice.org? Yes, there are differences, but on the Big Mountain of IT Costs, it's next to nothing.

Life cycle

But software is not merely a product, it is 'living' thing with a birth, a childhood, an adult phase and even a death. So, while buying it doesn't mean a lot, the life cycle does. When you bought your software product, where did you step into it's life cycle? At its birth? Short before its death? Somewhere in between? With software products, it's hard to tell. One thing is sure, however. When it's alive, there will be a Newer Version, which will introduce a Data Conversion, perhaps even Data Loss.

Why is this important?

Imagine a software selection process. Done properly, this is a tedious task. Now imagine your selected software package covered 85% of your 'must haves', and you decided to order a software company to develop the remaining 15% in order to cover your needs. Now, what happens with that functionality when the Next Version comes out? Will it be included in this version? Chances are the answer is 'No way'. That leaves you two choices: settle with the 'Old Version', or give the software company a second order to adapt your extension to the New Version. Most companies choose the latter, as support contracts often don't support 'Old Versions'.

Now imagine you selected an Open Source product. Same story, 85% 'must have' coverage, 15% development. This time, your developed extension is placed in Open Source. Same costs, different approach. When the inevitable 'Next Version' comes, your extension has become an integral part of it. No forced re-development, no lost costs, no useless support contracts.