Sun Microsystems, Inc.Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Open-source software has become ubiquitous in the IT world, with wide-spread use inFortune 500 corporations as well as in universities, developing economies, governments,and student populations.While many companies use open source for the cost advantages, it offers a number of other benefits, including:•Early access to new technology•Faster time to market•Ease of deployment•Freedom from vendor lock-in•Greater securityHowever, enterprises need to be aware of some potential pitfalls. Open-source licensingfees can make the software expensive. While community support and bulletin boardsare free, that level of support may not be enough for mission-critical applications ordeployment. When exploring open-source software alternatives, enterprises canwork with:•Aggregators(likeRed Hat), which collect and package software created by othersand then charge for supportand updates•Supportcompanies (like SpikeSource, SourceLabs, and OpenLogic), which put togethercommon open-source softwareinto stacks and offer enterprises integration andsupportservices•Creator, distributor and supporters (like Sun), which dedicates significant engineeringstafftowork with the community,aggregates community innovations, and deliversenhanced and thoroughly tested open-source software with full enterprise supportEnterprises looking atopen-source software have a growing number of choices. Inaddition toaddressing the issues above, this paper provides advice on evaluating open-source alternatives to ensure that the software delivers the long-term advantages thatcompanies need.
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