California Performance Review: Explore Open Source Alternatives

“Each year the State of California spends millions of dollars on
software, software maintenance and renewal. Many private and
governmental organizations are turning to open source software as a
cost-effective alternative to closed source software. The state
should more extensively consider use of open source software, which
can in many cases provide the same functionality as closed source
software at a much lower total cost of ownership.

“The typical model for software acquisition in state government
involves the purchase of closed source software solutions from the
major vendors. Closed source software is any software whose source
code is hidden from the public view. Under most licenses the user
cannot modify the program or redistribute it. Closed source
products encompass the spectrum from server operating systems,
application development platforms, office productivity suites, to
small yet often expensive utilities. Each of these software
solutions has an initial investment cost, maintenance and/or
upgrade costs…”

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