Developing Open-Source Business Policies That Work

By Steven J. Vaughan-nichols, CIO, 07/09/08

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We know your company uses open-source applications. We also know many of you already have an open-source policy. Sort of. As CIO.com discovered when researching the adoption of open-source in enterprise IT, a quarter of respondents have a formal policy in place to control how such software is chosen, supported and deployed. Another 18 percent expected to adopt such a policy in the next 12 months. But those who have some kind of policy aren't necessarily thrilled with it; just 45 percent said their policies are very effective.

"Somewhat effective" policies are like "somewhat effective" security; clearly, there's more to be learned. CIO.com asked CIOs and other people in the trenches about what's working-and what's not working-with their open-source usage policies. We found that most people don't really have a formalized policy. What they do have, though, are common concerns. Considered carefully, these issues should help you get a handle on how to better manage open-source software in your company. Once that's out of the way, you're in a better position to decide what you want in a formal policy that's right for your own company.

While a company may not have a formal policy, for all practical purposes, many do have an open-source software acquisition and usage policy. For example, Amy Begg De Groff, IT director for Maryland's Howard County Library system, says the library doesn't have a policy on software selection at all for open-source or proprietary software. Instead, she writes, "We have an understanding that we will select the least expensive/most effective software to meet the needs we've identified. So, we focus a lot of energy on needs analysis. Then we seek open source solutions first, because we have had such super success with open source solutions ( OpenOffice, Firefox, Apache, to name the few key ones.) Each time, we've found an open source product to meet our needs. Then, we've made sure it was an established product, with a large user/developer base and received good 'press' and reviews."

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