Do Small Businesses Fear Open Source?
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| Are you the open source type? It's an essential question for emerging
| enterprises as they build out their IT infrastructure--the wrong choice
| may bring your business to a standstill.
|
| It's also a difficult question. Open source software is a viable
| alternative to a broad range of commercial products, from operating
| systems to databases to Web servers to network monitoring. You can
| even deploy open source routers. Many emerging enterprises run
| business-critical applications with open source software and wouldn't
| have it any other way.
|
| [...]
|
| While open source software often has a low (or no) price tag, and you can
| run it on inexpensive hardware, that's only part of the savings. Companies
| also can cut costs by avoiding software that requires expensive skill sets.
|
| [...]
|
| Open source software provides an advantage over commercial software
| because it allows for a broader choice of hardware, Third Screen Media's
| D'Amico says. "Because we build with components, we can put various grades
| of hardware where we need them," he says. "We can deploy 32-bit [CPUs]
| for simple stuff and 64-bit [CPUs] in database."
|
| [...]
|
| Emerging enterprises shouldn't shy away from open source software as
| they build up the company IT infrastructure or consider a technology
| refresh. Like all software, open source carries both risks and rewards.
| Technical support, lifetime ownership costs, and the ability to find
| qualified open source administrators are the key factors in evaluating
| whether you're the open source type. Through careful evaluation, you
| can minimize the risks and maximize the rewards of open source.
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http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=192300168&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All
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