Open source offers some compelling benefits for
businesses large and small -- but you might be surprised at some of the
ways it's being used.
Certain
inevitabilities occur in technology. For instance, open source software
will make its way into your business. Ten years ago, this could easily
have been called into question. Now? There's no way to avoid it -- and
there's no reason to. With so many powerful (and necessary) pieces of
technology, open source has become, in various cases, the savior of
tech. But what areas of your business are best suited for open source?
The answer to that question is, of course, will be different from one
company to the next. But some applications can apply in almost every
circumstance.
Let's take a look at 10 possible best-case
uses for open source software that can help make your business grow,
bring you a level of flexibility and reliability you haven't
experienced, or just save you a welcome percentage of your budget.
1: Server software
If
you're still battling Microsoft's IIS platform, you need to experience
Apache. The flagship open source web server software is one of the most
widely used on the planet. It's free, incredibly reliable, easy to
manage, and doesn't require the enormous overhead needed for IIS. But
open source isn't limited to just web servers. If you need SMB sharing
across your company, consider Samba. Samba 4 even integrates with Active
Directory, so you don't have to worry about setting up separate user
accounts on the Samba server.
2: Development
Developing
with open source is a no-brainer. PHP, Rails, Perl -- there are as many
languages to develop with as there are tools (from IDEs to bug
tracking). There are a lot of options for developing for open source or
with open source tools (as are there with proprietary development). The
biggest difference between open source and proprietary is the access you
have to the software code. Within the world of FOSS (free open source
software) the code is readily available. For many developers, the Linux
operating system has everything they need to develop, built right in
(especially those who code without a full-blown IDE). If you do require
GUI development tools, open source has you covered.
3: Security
The
route to security is a challenging one, but there are many paths to
success. You can opt for the "security in a box" solution and go with
the likes of Cisco (a solid solution) or you can craft your security to
perfectly fit your needs with the likes of iptables. Yes, the open
source security route will take a bit more time to deploy (with a much
higher learning curve), but the end results are generally incredible.
This doesn't even address the idea that using open source on the desktop
is, generally speaking, a more secure platform than most proprietary
systems. Deploy Linux on the desktops and your security woes will drop
dramatically.
4: Desktops
This area is where most of
the pushback happens. However, you must take into consideration the fact
that the daily workflow has undergone a major paradigm shift. Most of
what we do now is done via a web browser. So why not deploy Linux on the
desktop? Not only does it work with the majority of today's tasks, it
will do so without suffering from viruses, malware, and updates that
cripple a system. It's not perfect -- what platform is? But it's solid,
and in the end, it can save you money. That's a win-win.
5: Workflow
Every
business depends upon workflow. For some businesses, a smooth workflow
depends upon tools. Open source has this arena covered. CRM, HRM, ERP,
BI, BPM... you name it, open source handles just about every possible
acronym you can think of -- and it does it very well. With the likes of Pentaho, Collabtive, and SugarCRM, open source can keep up with closed source tools any day.
6: Collaboration
Without
the ability to work together on projects, your staff wouldn't be able
to get the job done. So the collaboration tools you choose are crucial.
You'll find plenty of quality collaboration tools within the world of
open source. Cyn.in community edition, Zimbra Open Source Edition, and Kolab are just three examples of the excellent collaboration tools that exist within the open source world.
7: Big data
When it comes to big data, open source can't be matched. Thanks to the likes of SUSE,
big data and open source now go hand in hand. Innovations like
in-memory data and live kernel patching make open source an ideal
solution for big data. It can be perfectly tuned to meet the massive
demands big data places on the platform. Closed source software can't
touch this level of flexibility.
8: Cloud
The major players in the cloud are open source. Red Hat, Ubuntu, SUSE, Amazon, Rackspace
-- they all get it and know that open source is the best solution for
cloud deployments. But if you don't want to go with the larger
companies, there are always up and coming tools like ownCloud, where you can either take advantage of its hosted cloud solutions or build your own.
9: Multimedia
If your company does podcasting or video for PR, open source has you covered. With tools like Audacity and OpenShot,
you can do just about anything with audio or video you need -- and do
so on the cheap. In fact, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better
podcasting tool than Audacity or an easier-to-use video editor than
OpenShot. Both pieces of software do an outstanding job of creating
professional-quality results without the steep learning curves or the
high prices often associated with closed source tools.
10: E-commerce
If your business sells products online, you'd be remiss not to give a tool like PrestaShop
a try. PrestaShop is, hands down, one of the most powerful e-commerce
solutions available -- regardless of license. With just about every
feature you could possible want (and some you probably haven't even
thought of), the open source platform excels at e-commerce on every
level.
FOSS for business
Open source is no
longer hanging around the periphery of the business conversation. In
many instances, FOSS leads and dominates that conversation. If you've
been looking for areas to consider deploying open source solutions, look
no further than these 10.
Your turn
Have you added open source software to your business? If so, in what way?
No comments:
Post a Comment