Windows vs. Linux. Oracle vs. MySQL. Now, the closed source vs. open source debate is moving into the managed services market — where a growing list of open source options are permiating the industry. But are we all asking the right questions amid the latest open- vs. closed-source debate? Or are we blinded by emotion?
Unfortunately, the open source industry is filled with “journalists” who typically defend open source at all costs. Loyal readers know I generally support open source (our latest media site, WorksWithU, focuses on Ubuntu Linux for business). But I certainly realize open and closed source have their merits.
And plenty of managed services experts are joing the debate. Pundits like Nimsoft CEO Gary Read say open source remote management tools can’t match the scalability of their closed source alternatives. In stark contrast, entrepreneurs like CentralPointe CEO Mike Proper are building next-generation MSP and server systems entirely on open source.
So who’s got the winning strategy: Gary Read or Mike Proper? Nimsoft or CentralPointe?
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
My advice: Skip the emotional debates stirred up by the media. Focus instead on specific facts and your individual company needs. And look beyond the MSP market to see how the open- and closed-source industries are evolving.
- Sometimes, a software solution will be a blend of open and closed source (SugarCRM running on SQL Server and Windows NT Server; Oracle running on Linux; and the list goes on).
- Don’t let anyone tell you open source (example: Linux) has killed closed source (example: Microsoft and Windows). Yes, Microsoft faces a range of challenges and I do believe their empire is in decline. But remember: Red Hat is the only publicly held company that focuses purely on open source solutions. And despite Red Hat’s impressive gains, Microsoft’s annual revenues are roughly 120 times larger than Red Hat’s revenues.
- Open source pundits talk a lot about the power of their online communities. But let’s give equal time and credit to closed-source communities. PSA (professional services automation) software providers like Autotask and ConnectWise have massive, loyal, engaged online communities of their own.
- Hyperic, an open source remote management tool provider, offers eight items to include in your software evaluation checklist. Some of them pertain specifically to open source. But I like the fact that most of the tips really have little to do with the open source vs. closed-source debate.
- Check out the funding and business models associated with your potential open- and closed-source partners. For every GroundWork Open Source (which just received more funding), dozens of open source companies are struggling to attract investment dollars and customer service contracts.
- Meet with management to see if they have the smarts — and the focus — to grow a software company in a down economy. Ask them if they need to raise more money to keep the company going. Grill them — the same way a prospective customer would grill you.
Don’t asked or worry about whether the solution is open source or closed source until the end of the conversation. At that point, you can use your personal preference (open or closed source) as a potential swing vote in case you’re finding too difficult to choose between two solutions.
And most importantly, ignore passionate editors who evangelize open source at the expense of basic facts. And if MSPmentor begins to sound like an open source cheerleader, feel free to beat us up until we offer both sides of the debate.
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Tags: Autotask | CentralPointe CEO Mike Proper | ConnectWise | GroundWork Open Source | Hyperic | Nimsoft CEO Gary Read | WorksWithU
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I guess it all depends on your perspective. My company helps businesses find the best for for them in terms of software, open source of otherwise. But I cannot tell how many times that we have replaced MS SQL, Oracle, and DB/2 database management systems with mysql, and postgreql, or simple file and print servers running Win2K3 with SuSE Linux Enterprise or Ubuntu. Just from a dollars perspective your saving anywhere from $4000-$8000 per server.
Open source may not make a difference to the company that doesn’t manage their applications in-house, but it could. It all depends on your perspective, approach, and strategy.
From what I see, businesses want the same features and functionality of premium software for less . In some cases this is easy to do, while others can turn into an enormous task. For instance, if you have a small in-house application developed on Microsoft Access that now needs to be reborn into a client server application, why would you spend even $1000 on commercial RDBMS when mysql or postgresql can do the same job for free? Now for a larger scaled project it may be worth looking into a proprietary solution for features, but open source software makers are bridging that gap as sure as I take the next breath.
intelliginix.com
Great article MSP Mentor. I’m with GroundWork and I get the privilege to speak to our customer base and hear about their decision making. As intelliginix mentions above, open source functionality is quickly commoditizing the options/ functionality that proprietary software has dominated with, but there’s more to evaluation than functionality alone.
Few points our customers evaluate upon that I thought would be good to share:
1. is your in house talent/ staff experience and problem solving manners biased towards an open source solution or a proprietary solution? (developer centric vs. deployment centric)
2. is your company’s business model stable or evolving in this economy? Would the supportive software fit with the flexibility your company needs – or is this a low risk?
3. what are the expectations that your customers have? are they tolerant of open source or is there a learning curve to understand and accept open source?
Good advice Joe. It is interested how the definition of “open” has evolved over time. In the early 90s, if your application ran on a Unix operating system, you were considered open. A few years later, if your data was accessible using ODBC, you were open. Now, the measurement for some is open source. Through it all, user communities have created great value by sharing ideas, strategies and best practices. Our partners consistently tell us that one of the biggest benefits of attending our annual Partner Summit, regional user groups and Mastery series presentations is the time spent with other partners. It really is as much about the people as it is about the stuff under the hood.