Software - free or paid

[Ken Wood]

Perhaps I can offer a data point that people may find interesting:

I don't know what the adoption rates are across the SMB market for open source software generally and Open Office in particular, but all my experience suggests they must be very, very low. I'd guess 5% or lower - I just NEVER see this stuff when I talk to SMBs... Whatever the number, it is definitely much less than in the large corporate space.

I have my theories about the reasons for this, mostly that SMBs just lack the knowledge or expertise to choose, find and install good open source software. In the absence of quality technical advice, they do the same thing that we all do and fall back on well known brands.

On our hosted service, we offer a broad range of open source software pre-installed and ready for use by our clients - including Open Office, along with software for drawing & design, image editing, project management, desktop publishing and more.

But we consider Open Office the flagship indicator of take up, because everyone needs some type of document/spreadsheet editing software and our clients need to pay extra if they want to go with MS Office instead (Microsoft licensing policy).

The last time we ran the numbers was in June of this year, at which time 44% of our clients had opted for Open Office - leaving (obviously) 56% on Microsoft Office.

Obviously that's a much bigger number than for the broader SMB space, which at this time almost entirely uses on-premises equipment. So I think the conclusion is that SMBs will happily use open source software in the right circumstances, in particular when it's made easy for them to do so.

Cheers,
Ken

[tildavirtual]

It depends on my needs and if it talks cross platform. I run both Mac and peecee so if the software prefers one to the other then I'm covered.

I don't mind paying if I have to and I don't mind using the open source software either. WordPress is one that I LOVE and use all the time!

[Rob]

Open source free software can be good and as belts are tightening, looks like a viable option. I have paid for all the software I use and have found that as prices rise, I can search on the Internet for alternative products that will do the same job but not cost anywhere as much (a recent example is when one of my clients requested a specific report from the application I resell and was not available, I could have spent well over $1000 buying a well know report writing package yet a quick search on the Internet led me to a different product which still does the same job and cost around $400.00. I even had the programmer make a couple of changes to suit my needs...which he did with pleasure - and at no extra cost).

Paying for software automatically implies that the people you bought it off have to give you some sort of support, etc. Getting a free softwae package could lead to frustration wen it doesn't do what you want and there is no support available.

Buy your software and support the developers who wrote it for you and help them make it better.

[ahortin]

As with most people, I think it comes down to the type software you require. Being in the design business, the main leader in this field is Adobe. You'll find that 99.9% of 'professional' designers use this software, no matter whether they're on a Mac or PC, designing for the web or print. It's purely something that's required, if you want to keep in the game.

On the other hand, providing web development services, I find that there is a huge uptake of Open Source software. This can range from operating systems like Linux, web development software such as PHP, mySQL, or even software applications such as Shopping carts (osCommerce), Forums (phpBB) or as others have mentioned, Open Office (just to name a few).

The best thing to do is to have a good look around to see what's available, both 'free' and paid and weigh up the merits of both in terms of what they can provide, price etc. etc.

Cheers,
Anthony.

[joe]

I would also recommend Open Office.

The problem with much commercial software is that every year they have to give it a new lick of paint so they can sell you the latest new version. Open Source software doesn't bother marketing make over as it benefits no one. M$ Office is a prime example. Most people don't use 99% of the features so why buy it?

I found this with the latest Adobe products that are so much slower than the old versions. I can't find any new features that I need, so find myself just using the much faster 2 versions old version that I still have installed.

On the server side we stick to the opensource Linux platform so we aren't locked into some proprietary M$ platform.

There are piles of other software out there like free/opensource mind mapping programs and graphics programs. Photoshop is usualy also overkill for most people. Keep your eye out, open source software if getting better all the time.

[2way Technology]

I'm a bit of the opposite.

To me, you always get what you pay for.

Much like an Accountant - sure you can get your Tax Return done by H&R Block or ITP - but you won't get the range of value-added services if you go to a CA or CPA.

I've always found when clients want to switch to Open Source alternatives, they run into compatibility issues. The minute you land an opportunity with a semi decent sized company - chances are they'll be using the Licensed version and you'll just look like a fool if you can't do something as simple as communicate properly and your document formatting comes out all screwed.

I think people are right - most people don't use the full functionality of most software. That's a real shame because if people spent the time finding out about half of this functionality, their business would probably run a lot more efficient.

Classic example, I came accross a business that had about 400 customers/members, they were managing the customers with an Excel Spreadsheet. Unfortunately they were actually mis-managing this, they were loosing customer information left-right-centre.

After converting the Excel Spreadsheet to an semi-decent Database, they have improved the way they manage their information ten fold. Something as simple as printing labels when sending out a newsletter - what used to take hours, now with the database takes 10 minutes.


The other issue with Open Source is support. Who can you call if you've got an issue with Open Source platforms such as Open Office?

As for the cost of Licensed software, sure there are costs, but you should always look at the available options when aquiring software. For example, any business with more than 5 PCs should be on a License Agreement - not buying Retail or Shrink Wrapped. There are a number of benifits with a License Agreement including savings against Retail and Shrink Wrapped, but also you can transfer the licenses, there is even 'Home Use' license opportunities and 'Portable Computer' rights - a range of things most people don't look at because they go down to Harvey Norman or Dicksmith, buy the cheap Acer computer that they'll no doubt throw away in 12 months time and not stop and look at what other alternatives exist...

[Heidi Price]

We love open source!

And if we cant find exactly what we need through OS, we then look to free trials to evaluate the paid options.

Although, we are having to do this less and less.

Big cheers for all the OS developers out there - you are doing a fantastic job