Open Source – A trend for the SMBs

Any business, be it small or large is because of People, Project, Process and Technology. Earlier the organization had more focus on People and Projects. People were hired and put into the projects. But today “technology” plays a vital role in the development of any business. This is because technology is applied onto a project to keep track on the processes and activities which in turn helps the people of the organization to achieve goals and success.

But today, so much has been spent on technology that there is a need to set up a secure, cost effective and at the same time productive IT infrastructure. Big brands like HP, Microsoft, Adobe, Oracle and many others who have created the tech market, also are leaving a big hole in our pockets. So where should the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) look in for technology? The answer being simple is difficult for many to digest is “Open Source”.

According to opensource.org “Open source is a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process.” Let us understand what actually the above statement means.

Free Redistribution of license, distribution of original or modified source code under the same terms and conditions, the license may restrict source-code from being distributed in modified form only if the license allows the distribution of "patch files" with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time, license must not restrict other software or be specific to a product.

Let us take an example, today when we buy Microsoft Office; we get the software license for usage for around Rs. 20,000 or more. This is renewable license but each up gradation of license would cost extra every year. If you do not renew then your software will expire and after that you would be using pirated software which is not legal.

At that time open source “Open Office 3.0” comes into picture wherein you get the license once you download. After this you have the power to use the software for as much time as you want and for no cost at all. You can also distribute the product for free in compliance with the terms and conditions. If the software has newer versions, all you have to do is download the latest version or update your existing patch code with new patch code.

So when one asks “how do I come to know about the open source alternative of a software”, I reply- with little knowledge, eagerness to learn and an Internet connection one can simply browse to learn the alternatives. Because they are easy to learn with available “help menu” and save you from piracy of software. Apart from this, open source awareness has led to online demo of many types of software on the net.

To actually help you understand, how open source would be benefiting you in terms of cost and usage, let us look at the comparison below along with available options:

S. No	Commercial S/w	Price (Rs.)	Open Source S/w
1.	MS Outlook	5,000/user	Zimbra
2.	Tally	36,000	GNU Cash
3.	MS Office	13,824/user	Open Office
4.	Adobe Reader	8000	PDF Creator
5.	Adobe Photoshop	5000	Gimp
6.	Video Uploading on your website		Kaltura
7.	Web Conferencing tool	Save travel cost	DimDim
8.	MS Proj		OpenProj
9.	Sales Force	3250/ user/month	SugarCRM
10.	Mc Afee/ Norton	2000+/user/year	ClamWin
11.	WinZip	1500	7 zip
12.	Nero	3200	InfraRecorder
13.	MySAP HR		OrangeHRM
14.	Windows XP	6500/desktop	Linux-ubuntu
15.	SAP ERP	10- 25 Lakh	OpenBravo

So you can actually total up your cost of commercial software and save that much amount by using open source model! For SMBs, this can be one suite for their organization IT infrastructure with which they can “develop relevant knowledge and sustain themselves with open source in these recessionary times”.

For more details on open source, watch the space on upcoming SME Portal- IT Solutions.