Your Open Source Software Strategy

Open Source Software has become a critical part of the corporate IT enterprise. While IT staff and Information Technology management might understand the benefits and risks of open source software, there is a good chance that non tech leadership in your company do not. When open source software started being discussed as an enterprise alternative to commercial off the shelf software years ago there, was a resistance to change (as with many new initiatives or directions) and opposing factions presented arguments against it. These arguments usually included – “It’s not ready for prime time production yet”, “It is insecure since the source is available to everyone”, and “There is no good vendor support”. In many situations, these statements were valid back then. A lot has changed in the last several years and many of these issues are no longer valid. Open source software is now being used in some form in most companies. However, your non technical business leaders that have not followed or been informed of open source advancements may still be wary of its use. Having a formal open source strategy can help you educate non tech business leaders, calm their concerns, and provide a framework that shows if, when, how, and where open source software makes sense in the enterprise. Even if you don’t have open source software deployed, it is a big enough hot topic that you will eventually be asked about it. Having a strategy document that explains why you do not use open source shows you have researched and thought about the issue. For those who do use or plan to implement open source software, having a strategy document outlining the benefits, risks, and support can be a valuable tool in making your case for open source software. For those who are interested in viewing a sample open source strategy, I will shortly provide an outline of an open source software strategy that I have used with success in a follow up post. Fill in the blanks and you are on your way…