Line56: The OSS Fear Factor

“In this security-conscious era, getting IT or business leaders
to consider using OSS can be a tough sell. One of the main reasons
is a perceived lack of control–or a throat to choke to put it
another way. If you purchase packaged software, you know who’s
responsible. If you’re using Microsoft Outlook and some knucklehead
exploits a hole to distribute a virus to your user base, all eyes
turn to Redmond for a patch. But if you’re using Evolution and a
similar problem occurs, to whom do you turn for a remedy? (See Myth
#4 for the answer.)

“One of the appeals of OSS within the open source community is
that it is developed for the greater good rather than simply to
make a buck. Yet this egalitarian appeal is also one of its
greatest barriers to its general acceptance. In the absence of hard
information, a number of myths have sprung up which make the
prospect of using open source software for enterprise applications
scarier than that box of tarantulas. Let’s examine some of these
myths (and the truths about them) in order to bring a greater
understanding of OSS, and see how your organization can benefit
from it…”

Complete
Story