Reprinted with permission © 2008 TreeTop Technologies
Many have sniped at open source applications as merely the domain of the “tech geeks” and asserted that they couldn’t stand up to the “real” commercial apps. In many cases, those critics may have been right, but these days, open source is far less in the crosshairs of critics, says David Crouch, president of Ten24, a company producing an integrated and scalable online marketing suite. And the ever-improving open source products out there are a particular boon to small and mid-size businesses, he says.
“For the most part managers and executives are not so concerned about the technology. They don’t care that it’s PHP or .NET or Cold Fusion running their web apps,” he says. “They just care that it’s up and running and does what they need it to do. But maybe 20% or 25% of these companies are concerned. In those cases, they are often looking specifically for something written in open source because it gives them the flexibility of getting access to the source code and be able to build parts of the system to their specific requirements. That beats hunting around for a commercial product that comes closest to what they want.”
Even five years ago, Crouch says, he wouldn’t have been able to seriously consider building a content management system like Ten24’s with an open source system at its core. “But now the documentation and support and community and features modules are very much at the stage where you can support a business on them,” he says. “It’s just been a matter of time, and now the open source apps are more mature, easier to work with, easier to support and more secure.”
If you’re weighing options, be sure to give ample attention to open-source alternatives. You may be surprised at the heft they can deliver.
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Footnotes: From "View from the TreeTop" Volume 2 Issue 5 May 2008