My board is enamoured with the concept of open source software, and
as a result there's pressure upon me to invest in it. What should I
do?
External influencesMy board is enamoured with the concept of open source
software, and as a result there's pressure upon me to invest in it.
However, staff members are concerned that if we go down this
software path, they'll lose touch with the skills they need to
survive in the jobs market. What should I do?
The Solution
Obtain an all-round view
Roger Elvin
Lecturer in Information Systems, Cranfield School of
Management
You must put the debate on a solid footing by educating all the
interested parties (including yourself if necessary). Find out how
much the board members really know about open source software.
Perhaps it is simply a cost issue in their minds. If so, you will
need to make sure they understand the full implications of software
ownership. Help them by comparing and contrasting cost of ownership
models for open source and proprietary software.
You and the board may still conclude that investment in open
source software is the right choice for your organisation, but you
must ensure that the decision is taken for the right reasons, and
is fully informed. You will then be better placed to manage the
consequences of the decision.
Be open with your staff and involve them in your information
gathering. This may allay some fears and you may gain some converts
to the open source software approach should you eventually decide
to take that route. At the very least, you will gain valuable
insights into the likely level of resistance to a decision in
favour of open source software. Ultimately, the choice made will be
that which is in the best interests of the organisation. Staff
concerns cannot be allowed to block that, but the ability to
maintain an adequate level of support through a transition state
will be a significant factor when the decision is taken.
Assess staff contributions
John Eary
Head of NCC skills source consultancy
It is debatable whether open source software skills will be in
less demand than those required for proprietary systems. Whatever
your potential staff problems, you are unlikely to convince the
board to reverse a business decision. It is certainly true that IT
staff are currently concerned about their marketability and,
because of this, some staff may be reluctant to invest their time
in learning new skills, especially if their existing skills are in
demand in the present market.
Remember, though, that the reason why staff are working at your
company is because they currently find it an attractive employer.
At this point, it would be worthwhile taking the opportunity to
review the contribution of staff to the business, not only in the
technical skills that they possess but also their knowledge of how
the business runs.
OSS is inevitable and progressive
David Taylor
Certus
The availability, and subsequent move to the respectability of
open source software (OSS) seems inevitable now. At the moment, OSS
is still not considered "mainstream", which makes the fears of your
people relevant - but only in the current climate. As OSS becomes
more respectable, it will become mainstream and the skills required
to support it will also become in demand. Thus, it is entirely
possible, though not by any means certain, that the skills they now
possess will one day be the fringe skills, whilst OSS skills are
the mainstream.
In any case, it is ingenuous to suggest that we can resist the
trend towards OSS by pleading that we can't possibly support it
because our people don't want to. The whole ethos of IT has always
been about change and moving forward, and never more so than now. I
would take the bull by the horns and announce a special project to
evaluate OSS within my current business environment, and then put
the strongest detractors in charge of it. Only by dispelling this
Luddite attitude will we prove to those who rely on us that IT
leaders really can get to the front of the queue.
Marketability is likely to increase
Neil Yeomans
Arthur Andersen
Open source software has started to penetrate the minds, and in
some cases the wallets, of corporations large and small around the
globe. Such a change in attitude can be seen in the rise in
popularity and subsequent deployment of software such as Linux,
Apache and Star Office.
Such software has a number of key benefits including greater
stability, faster development of functionality and potentially
quicker resolution of problems. These are all benefits that stem
from the power of the Internet to link together a much wider
development community than that traditionally feasible within the
corporate sphere.
Despite this, there are also drawbacks that need to be
considered. Issues such as internal deployment, training and
support are all made more difficult by a code base that is changing
at Internet speed.
Ironically, your staff concerns about the loss of skills may be
unfounded. Indeed, the recent rise in popularity of open source
software is likely to make your employees more marketable rather
then less. Furthermore, it is likely that the sense of kudos
associated with working within what is likely to be seen as a
leading-edge IT department may mean you have less trouble than you
imagine in attracting and retaining the people you need.
However, overall as a member of your company's management team,
your decision as to what to do should ultimately be based upon what
you feel is best for your organisation. Such a conclusion can only
be reached by carefully weighing up the pros and cons relevant to
your environment and sharing this analysis with your board. Not
only will this ensure that they are aware of the pitfalls as well
as the benefits, but it also means that you won't be making such an
important decision on your own.
Architecture plans pay off
Dan Remenyi
Visiting professor of information systems, Brunel
University
It sounds as if your organisation probably does not have either
an IT architecture or an IT strategic plan. Without these essential
plans and formal statements of standards, organisations can find
themselves getting into the type of wrangles and arguments your
question implies. I wonder if your board hasn't been dazzled by
magazine advice about the wonders of open source software, which
can so easily happen if there isn't a well-articulated IT
architecture or an IT strategic plan in place.
An IT architecture or IT strategic plan need not be a 300-page
document loaded with hi-tech ideas and jargon. Some of the best are
sometimes as short as 30 pages, in simple English, and may have
only taken a few months to put together. Both of these plans are
really worthwhile doing. And they give your efforts to have a
highly professional IT operation a much better chance of
success.
So, you need to go back a step or two and think through what
your organisation wants to get out of its IT; this will then
suggest what type of platforms are needed to achieve the corporate
business objective. This is not a trivial matter, and to be
effective, it needs to be done properly.