Open Source Alternatives: Weighing the Pros and Cons

As much of a fan of Open Source software that I am, I too have to be honest when looking at Open Source alternatives. While instances where Open Source software would not work may be few and far between, I am sure that they still do exist regardless.

Open source alternatives only make sense “when workers are doing really simple stuff and don’t actually need all the functionality of a complex software suite, such as Microsoft Office, said Gartner research analyst Mark Driver.

“But all too often a lot of the more complex documents don’t convert, and there are times when 98 percent compatibility is just not good enough — so you have to be careful,” Driver told NewsFactor.

Browser Wars

“The devil continues to be in the details,” said AMR Research director Paul Kirby, who expects that it will be “a few more years before they become attractive broadly in the enterprise.”

However, open source browsers like Firefox are “now mature, and any worker that interacts with a browser is a good candidate,” Kirby told NewsFactor. Nevertheless, companies “should be cautious and do a lot of due diligence before making their move. Running a pilot also makes good sense.”