Reducing Costs with Open Source

by Pini Cohen

In the current economic climate, IT organizations will have to cut costs just as other lines of business will. One potential alternative that IT organizations may consider are open source tools and applications. The open source alternative is especially valid when an organization is beginning a new project, but it is also a valid option when the IT organization wants to cut costs in an existing project or activity. The maintenance and support costs of software products is around 15% to 25% a year. In some cases, altering the proprietary software to an open source solution might cost (including integration) less than one year's maintenance expenses for a commercial solution.