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Open Source in an Economic Downturn
Craig Buchek
May 9, 2009
The Open Source movement is just a faster, Internet-enabled implementation
of the much older academic tradition of peer review and building on
foundations laid by others.
-- Paul Murphy
About Me
Using GNU/Linux since 1994
Chair of St. Louis LUG since 1999
Independent web developer since 2006
BoochTek, LLC
Ruby on Rails, PHP
Various consulting and contacting positions
Certifications from Microsoft and Novell
About You
How many have used Linux?
How many have used other Open Source applications?
Firefox
Open Office
Thunderbird
How many have used Google?
How many own a TiVo?
About Your Business
What size company do you work for?
Does your company use Open Source?
Does your company use Java?
The Challenge
Lower demand
Lower revenue
Lower profits
Employee lay-offs
What You Can Do
Lower Costs
Raise Prices
Increase Demand
Lower Prices
Improve the quality of your product/service
Improve the efficiency of your product/service
Make your product/service more desirable
Go Out of Business
What You Can Do
How Open Source Can Help
What Is Open Source?
Open source is a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.
-- Open Source Initiative
What Is Open Source?
A licensing scheme, allowing distribution to anyone
Another name for Free Software
A way to collaborate on software development
Sharing of source code, so others can make improvements
Realization that once you've produced code, it costs nothing to distribute
Open Source v. Free Software
Free Software emphasizes freedom
Open Source emphasizes low cost, flexibility, control
Freedom and control are 2 sides of the same coin
I will use them interchangeably
Free Software Definition
The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements (and modified versions in general) to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
Cost Savings
Free or low cost
Low cost maintenance/support
Lower hardware requirements
Less administrative overhead
Flexibility
Open Source Downsides
Licensing issues
Learning curve
Higher cost of employees
Training costs
Cost of switching
Fear and uncertainty
Licensing
Using FLOSS has no restrictions/requirements
Open Source licenses give you additional rights
If you distribute copies or make modifications, you must follow terms of copyright law and licenses
If you're just using Open Source - no worries
If you're just distributing unmodified Open Source - no worries
If you're distributing modified Open Source with source code - no worries
If you're mixing Open Source with proprietary extensions - talk to a lawyer
Fear and Uncertainty
Seems safer to stick with a known quantity
Can blame the seller of a proprietary product
Open Source requires taking responsibility
People often care more about their jobs than helping the company
Who Uses Open Source
IBM
Google
Sun
Novell
Oracle
NYSE
Microsoft
Governments
Small businesses
Everyone!
How To Do It
Slowly and carefully
Start with new systems instead of migrations
Start with smaller, non-mission-critical apps
Do your homework
Consider Software As A Service options
Where to Start
Firefox
Open Office
LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) for web and app servers
GNU/Linux and Samba for file servers
GNU/Linux and Postfix for email
Open Source for the Unemployed
Further Reading
Further Exploration
Resources
Credits
Inspired by a presentation given at SCALE7x, mentioned in Linux Weekly News:
Used DokuWiki to create this presentation
Presentation Info
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Copyright 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 by Craig Buchek. Some Rights Reserved.
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