Open Source Software as an Alternative

There’s lots of talk about Vista problems, about how XP support is being extended further, and how Windows 7 development is being accelerated to replace Vista.  Around all of these, Apple is releasing a new round of notebooks and upgrades to their notebook line.  And added to the mix is the current financial crisis.

I am not an economist, nor a finance person, but if my (non-finance) job is affected by the financial health of banks — very big banks — then I think I’d better take a look at how the bottom line gets affected by technology on hand.  To better understand this, take the case of the Millenium bug.

There were a lot of companies which changed their computer acquisition cycles in 1999.  Instead of replacing their computers every three years, some companies were forced to acquire new PCs in 1999, to circumvent any possible problems with millenium calculations.  The effect for computer companies came along in 2003 and 2004.  The expected rollover of equipment did not come along as expected and companies deferred their acquisition to 2005.  This put a bite into the bottom-line of computer companies.  Companies which made a hit in 1999.

Now with the global financial crisis hitting the bottom line, there’s an effort to cut on capital expenses and running costs of doing business.  These include electricity, manpower, hardware and licensing.   With the bottom-line in management’s sights, IT suddenly is taking a hard look at open source software.  Not just corporate IT, really, but specially small office/home office and consumer use as well.

Open source software has traditionally been frowned upon, not because of any technology but because of two important considerations:  support and user-experience.  Support is usually seen in terms of the phone and problem resolution turn-around times.  The issue there is that if you use any Open Source software, there might not be any number to call.  Open Source would counter that the support is there, but you would have to seek it through the web, by asking for solutions through forums or by searching for solutions.  Once a user can get past that, it should solve the support problems.  This is mainly a problem with non-technical users.

The other problem, user experience, is a biased concern.  The resistance to change is a hard sell and a chicken-and-egg question:  how are you going to prove that an interface is easy to learn, if your user does not want to use it in the first place.

Open source software like linux and Open Office can deliver the same functionality, with good or better support levels.  But linux and Open Office will have to bring something to the table to make the transition more palatable or more acceptable.  It’s very possible that with the credit crunch, when money is closely watched, the cost of software (specifically Windows and MS Office against linux and Open Office) might tip the balance.

I’ve used Linux and Open Office, and I’ve been trying to look at it from a newbie’s viewpoint and it can be a viable alternative, with an easier than expected learning curve.  And the price point is unbeatable.  It’s free.