This week's launch of OpenForum Europe will provide users and
suppliers with a place to talk open source seriously. John Riley
reports
Alarm at the tightening of supplier software licence regimes and
pressure from finance directors to achieve more value for less
money have helped to create new opportunities for the open source
movement. That trend is marked this week in two ways. First by the
launch of OpenForum Europe, a body set up by users and suppliers to
promote the open source movement at board level. The second is an
in-depth survey on open source usage and perceptions among UK IT
directors and finance directors, which points to imminent,
large-scale Linux adoption by retailers for point of sale
terminals.
Just over one-third of IT directors are using open source software
already, found the survey. The research was carried out by Trend
Consulting for OpenForum Europe and the Department of Trade &
Industry, which quizzed, in detail, 59 IT directors and 17 finance
directors. However, perceived risk factors mean that it is used
tactically rather than strategically, most commonly for Web serving
and firewalls. Usage for file management and Web development was
significantly higher among respondents in the retail sector.
Support availability was the biggest concern (among 41% of
respondents). However, the surprise was that 55% of those already
using open source software were concerned about availability of
support compared with 32% of respondents not yet using it. One
reason could be that as open source is being used tactically these
organisations do not have a support infrastructure in place. That
is a core issue that the open source community needs to address
urgently.
Security was another area where users had more concerns than
non-users, especially among finance sector companies, which have a
deep-rooted concern about security in an open environment.
Independent certification for open source software by an acceptable
body would go a long way to address the security issue.
Other challenges that proved tougher than expected by open source
users are cross-platform compatibility and finding the right
skills. These all contribute to a perception of risk in using open
source software. IT directors polled also raised questions about
the overall cost benefits of replacing existing infrastructure with
open source.
The demands on open source software are greater given the pressure
to reduce costs. However, the finance directors surveyed were not
looking solely at reducing costs - they were equally concerned to
maintain the feasibility and operability of IT. They want not only
to save money but to improve service, so IT directors need to have
a clear economic argument for deploying open source software. While
concerned to reduce the total cost of ownership, IT directors are
not likely to accept a reduction in IT performance as a
trade-off.
In many areas the benefits of using open source software exceeded
expectations, especially in cost savings through reduction of
licence costs and in the amount of up-time improvement achieved.
Only 3% of non-users expected better up-time, whereas 18% of them
gained it. Users also experienced better control over development
than expected. Other worries about open source among non-users,
including availability of applications, absence of supplier
credibility, and an unproven due diligence process, evaporated when
they came to use it. Public sector respondents had particular
concerns about finding open source applications.
Major fall-out from the supplier licensing upheavals is likely to
hit home soon in the retail sector, which is poised to look at open
source because of the volume of licences on point-of-sale
terminals.
The concept of open source software is well received by the IT
director respondents, but, as the report says, "IT directors do not
buy philosophies - they buy technology which is proven to help them
run their business."
That attitude accounts for the caution in moving from tactical use
to strategic deployment. IT directors are adopting a wait-and-see
attitude, pausing to allow others to move first, to minimise the
perceived risk. OpenForum Europe aims to help to break any deadlock
here.
"This is not an evangelical group," says programme director Graham
Taylor. "It is highly business-focused and tackles those issues
which are preventing open source having wider success in business.
At a time when cost of ownership has never been more important, it
is paramount that businesses can fully understand the opportunity,
as well as the pitfalls, and make informed decisions."
The survey found that while overall cost reduction is the prime
responsibility of finance directors, it is up to IT directors to
work out how to reduce IT costs, including licensing costs. It
revealed an almost total lack of communication between IT directors
and their finance directors when it comes to open source awareness.
That is one area where OpenForum Europe sees a facilitating role.
Perhaps the most significant outcome of this week's flurry of open
source launch activity is that the open source debate has moved
firmly into the business and strategic domain, and up several
notches from being a primarily technical and tactical issue.
Why we need yet another user group
OpenForum Europe, a
group of large IT users and suppliers launched this week, aims to
strengthen the perception and credibility of open source,
particularly in government and among commercial users. OpenForum
Europe will address the business issues of using open source
software such as return-on-investment, true cost, and auditability.
It is aiming at finance directors as well as IT directors and its
founder members include Citibank, Caldera, Compaq, Financial Times,
GB Direct, Globix, IBM, Identrus, IT Direct at Lloyds and Reed in
Partnership.
Bruce Forbes, chief technology officer of the Financial Times
Group, says, "We view the launch of OpenForum Europe as an
invaluable opportunity to help UK business grasp some of the real
business opportunities surrounding open source software."
OpenForum Europe is a not-for-profit sister programme to
Interforum, the Department of Trade & Industry-backed
organisation that encourages small- and medium-sized companies to
trade online. Like Interforum, OpenForum will be under the umbrella
of the Government-backed IT Forum Foundation which promotes use of
e-commerce in UK business.
What the directors say
"We are looking to use Linux
more and more. When you use Linux the cost of managing that
equipment goes down substantially. Also, with Linux you don't need
to upgrade the equipment that often, and that is in line with our
IT budget being cut."
IT director, high-street retailer
"We are not happy with the way some of the software is charged for
and structured in terms of payment. It needs to be more flexible
and this is where open source software becomes an advantage. It has
to be established though, before we are confident to look at it as
a means of addressing the licensing issue."
IT director, insurance company
"We are currently looking at our business plans. The licensing cost
issue alone makes it more likely that we will move to Linux. We
have 30 to 40 tills per location and when you multiply that by the
number of stores we have, you can then imagine what that's going to
cost."
IT director, high-street retailer
"Open source software will play an increasingly important role in
our IT strategy. I would like to run it mainly on the mainframe, as
licensing costs are enormous for OS/390, so we will look at
replacing it with Linux."
IT director, insurance firm
"The challenge is, who do we sue?"
Finance director, bank