Whether or not your organisation is ever likely to go down the open
source software route, you should welcome the formation this week
of OpenForum Europe. The group, which brings together large
corporate users and IT suppliers that back open source, aims to
strengthen the perception and credibility of open source software
as a serious alternative to proprietary software for
business.
The key word for users here is alternative - all too often, in
practice, users don't have one. The most obvious case is
Microsoft's effective monopoly of the desktop but there are many
other niche areas where users have only one real option.
Negotiating with a supplier that knows you have no choice is not a
negotiation - it is a turkey-shoot. Many users experienced what
that feels like at first-hand last year, when Microsoft announced
changes to its licensing regime that would have dramatically
increased costs for many users. It was only by expressing their
collective anger through user groups that UK users managed to
persuade Microsoft to delay the changes.
Anything that gives users a real alternative when facing a de-facto
monopoly supplier is to be welcomed. That is why even the most
dyed-in-the-wool Microsoft fan stands to benefit from the formation
of the new organisation.
Open source has already proved to be a reliable mechanism for
delivering robust, effective software - examples include the Apache
web server and the Sendmail and Fetchmail utilities. Users who have
adopted open source software in parts of their organisations say
that it not only cuts costs, they have often found it helps to
increase control over systems, improves system security and leads
to increased uptime.
But open source's long-hair-and-sandals image is a big turn-off for
corporate users. Anything that helps it to shed this image and
build credibility among business users - and offer a threat to
proprietary software suppliers - is welcome.
OpenForum Europe includes some big names - for example, Citibank
and Lloyds of London on the user side, IBM and Compaq on the
supplier side - which should help it to get the attention of
corporate users. Its strategy of spelling out the business
practicalities of using open source software in plain business
language is the right way to win over hard-bitten sceptics. And the
relationship with the National Computing Centre, which will act as
a directory and guide to the quality of open source software and
services, is another important plank in the bridge between the
world of academics and enthusiasts and the world of business.
In the foreseeable future most users are unlikely to move to open
source software for anything except a few niche applications -
certainly a mass move to open source desktops is nowhere in sight.
There are many real practical problems facing organisations that
want to make a major move to open source, including risk
management, availability of applications, availability of support,
end-user acceptance, compatibility with other users' systems and
the cost of retraining. But if, the next time a major supplier
considers hiking up its prices, it stays its hand for fear of
fuelling a serious open source challenge, then OpenForum Europe
will have done users a great service.