NewsForge: Government Watchdog Group Warns of Open Source Expense

“You might not think that Citizens Against Government Waste
would be playing up the cost benefits of proprietary software for
use by government, but the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization did
just that with a recent press release.

“Praising the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its
memorandum urging agencies to consider the total cost of ownership
including lifecycle maintenance, risk, and ensuring security when
acquiring software, CAGW indicated that open source can cost more.
CAGW President Tom Schatz said people mistakenly refer to open
source as free software because it can be freely altered and
distributed, yet while the software itself might be free or cheaper
than licensed software to purchase, the cost to maintain and
upgrade open source can make it more expensive…”

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