Large firms can save more from open source

Large companies could save a substantial amount of money by using open-source software products, according to a study by the Swiss consultancy Soreon Research.

Companies with a €1m (£700,000) budget for office software could reduce their costs as much as 20% by using OpenOffice software instead of Microsoft's Office product.

Those running the open-source Linux operating system instead of Microsoft's Windows on their servers could save as much as 30%.

Within a three-year period, enterprises with 2,000 workplaces using open-source software could save €525,000 (£376,500) on office software,  €57,000 (£48,880) on server software, €32,000 (£23,000) on content management system software and €21,000 (£15,000) on database software.

The lack of licensing costs accounts for the largest share of the savings. Companies could also reduce personnel by implementing Linux.

By comparison, small and medium-sized enterprises stand to benefit only marginally by using open-source software..

A company with 10 computers, for example, could reduce its costs around 2% by using open source software. A larger company with 100 computers could save 6% on office software and 7% on server software.

The study included 50 large German companies and organisations, as well as 30 software retailers.