The deployment dilemma

Written by jonoATkdeDOTorg.

In these fast paced times of Linux and free software being utilised in the business world, what kind of reqirements are the business community emmiting to the software industry?

I think the problem with facing this burning question is what you define as a business. As we all know, the business world is one which is varied and rich with requirements and processes. When people refer to the generic term 'business' with regards to computing, it seems that a productivity solution is what is required.

Ahhh there it is...productivity; karma to the kings and hell to the losers. Productivity can be the make or break of a system and a business, and hence the software solution can be an integral part of how successful a business and it's processes are.

With regards to business deployment of software, there appears to a level of concern regarding the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). The idea that many IT managers want to engage in is that software is an investment and not a purchase. The second area where concern lies is in the magical support contract. We all know that many companies (particularly in the Linux industry) thrive on support services, so this is an important element to consider.

In terms of TCO, the attributes of an initial buy in are obviously only part of the equation, and there are often migration, training and support costs to increase the TCO. The interesting thing regarding free software is that this TCO can invariably be an accurate TCO as the buy in is truly an investment. The concerns of the IT manager at buy in level with regards to TCO seem to float around the migration of a system - this can include training admin, supporting users when they need help and other costs in the switch over. Although this will apply to any system, once this migration is over - the lock in is essentially over and the company can mature it's IT solution as the free software community matures also.

Many people and business are trying to sell the next generation of business software claiming it is the best thing sinced sliced bread, but the only person who can make the change for the better is the business. Each business case is individual and unique.

Jono Bacon is a KDE developer, the founder of KDE::Enterprise, KDE Usability Project.

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