Open Source Deployment and Support

UK government studies show that open source software can, in some instances, be cheaper to maintain than proprietary software. Deployment of open source software should follow the same pattern of evaluation of needs, testing, acquisition from a supplier and so on as would be used with proprietary software. However, there are two additional factors to consider:

• There can be multiple, independent, primary vendors of open source software to choose between
• As well as the usual range of support options (relying on a primary vendor, dealing with a large general support company, employing a specialised consultancy, and developing in-house expertise), there is the additional possibility of bringing development of new features in-house.

The cost of deploying and supporting software, whether open source or closed source, is very often much higher than the simple cost of licence acquisition, and will often be the principal component of the total cost of ownership.