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Leveraging_Open_Source_Applications
| Leveraging Open Source Applications
Open Source applications can bring unique value to business
owners. Since the base application development costs of open
source applications is free, small and medium business owners
are able to leverage previously unobtainable technolgies against
their sales objectives, operational costs and customer
satisfaction levels.
Most small and medium businesses cannot afford the typical IT
infrastructure model - nor does it make sense even if it is
within their budget. Consider the following expenses: - Hardware
Infrastructure (Servers, Routers, etc) - Bandwith - Software
licenses - Software maintenance - IT Staff
The creation, countinued adoption and proliferation of Linux
(Open Source Operating System) in many server installations
across the world has changed the way businesses run their IT
operations. Although Linux is not yet a viable technolgy in the
workstation model, it most certainly has gained a large market
share in the server/application world. Companies adopting Linux
into their server environment have realized the decreased costs,
increased efficiency and increased security associated with this
platform. The secret is now out and organizations are jumping
the Microsoft ship at an ever increasing rate. This trend has
not been lost on the major players in the IT industry, as IBM
and Novell have been furiously waving the Linux banner and
adopting the Linux penguin into all their marketing efforts over
the last 12-24 months.
What does this mean to the typical Small & Medium Business
Owner?
Since the proliferation of Linux, many applications have been
developed by programmers from around the world to run on this
platform. Pretty much any application a business could require,
no matter how specialized, can now be found in the Open Source
community. By choosing an ASP (Application Service Provider)
provider that has experience with these applications, and the
necessary infrastructure to host, manage & support these
applications for you, a business owner can now leverage core
business applications at a fraction of traditional, "expected"
costs. Although IBM has never been able to capitalize or deliver
on their now famous marketing slogan "Pay like a little guy,
Play like a big guy" - Savy business owners are learning how to
accomplish this, even if it isn't by calling IBM.
Enterprise level applications such as eCommerce, CRM, Content
Management and Portals are now available for 100's of dollars
setup, not 10's of thousands or 100's of thousands dollars.
Combine this with low, fixed operational monthly hosting and
support fees - effectively eliminating infrastructure, IT staff,
software and bandwith expenses - and the value statement becomes
VERY strong for the typical business owners.
Other advantages with Open Source applications: - Real time
updates and upgrades. No more waiting for your vendor to release
the next version before bugs &/or security holes are patched. -
Once a bug is identified and validated, the Open Source
community is quick to release a fix. - Open source means open
and available code - unlike various proprietary systems, where
source code is not available - application integration is now
affordable and possible, even for small business.
www.cartika.ca Cartika IT Solutions for Business
About the author:
Cartika IT Solutions is an ASP IT Solution Provider. Zen Cart
eCommerce, XRMS CRM, SugarCRM, Mambo CMS and H-Sphere Control
Panel Web Hosting.
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