Open Source software will entrench its position in business in 2005. Its ready availability, low cost of acquisition and maintenance will support this. So too with a change of approach by the Open Source visionaries, who are becoming more commercial and less introspective in their approach to promoting their strategies for the future.
The Open Source concept is simple: When programmers can read, redistribute and modify the source code for a piece of software, the software evolves.
Other people improve it and adapt it. Yet others fix bugs. This can happen at a speed that is significantly faster than that associated with conventional software development.
The Open Source community believes that this rapid evolutionary process produces better software than the traditional, proprietary model.
Proposals
Today, along with Go Open, there are many business structures being put into place to address this new world. And there are many proposals on the table designed to further the Open Source cause.
For example, the South African government is intent on making open standards a non-negotiable base for Information Technology (IT) in the public sector.
It is also actively encouraging government agencies and public institutions to use Open Source software by allowing open software to compete on a level playing field with proprietary alternatives in government software procurement.
High cost
Against this backdrop, it has been recently reported that the State IT Agency is driving a move to speed up the implementation of Open Source alternatives because it stands to save around R3bn a year on licensing fees. This is according to quotes from agency chief information officer Mojalefa Moseki.
In fact, the true cost of proprietary software to government is in the region of R9,4bn, with support and upgrade costs included.
Adding to the weight behind the Open Source movement comes news that government will work with universities and private companies and set up a resources centre with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to help develop programming skills.
The move is timely because there is a significant pool of software programming talent in South Africa that could be expanded even further with the right incentives in place.
Government`s commitment to Open Source is just such an incentive, which is bound to create a climate in which these skills can be nourished and encouraged to multiply.
Multi-nationals
Where will this leave the multi-national software companies? It is no secret that Computer Associates, one of the world`s leaders in software development, is a keen supporter of Open Source and has kept an eye on developments in this arena.
It is also a supporter of the SA government`s initiative to stimulate the Open Source movement in this country and encourage the birth of new companies - perhaps an entire industry - devoted to the development and application of Open Source software in sub-Saharan Africa.
Hurdles
There will be hurdles to overcome. Many proponents of proprietary software believe that Open Source solutions are immature and too unstable to be entrusted with mission critical applications in government and quasi-government institutions.
This is clearly not the case. Open Source technologies have made rapid strides in the past year or two and have proved themselves conclusively in major global database server and Web server applications.
Other governments - in France, Germany and Peru, for example - have weighed the positions of Open Source and proprietary software carefully and have come out squarely in favour of Open Source. So too have the state authorities in California.
Even at desk-top level there are many Open Source applications making their mark, such as Ximian Evolution. This package can access MS exchange servers and has advanced groupware features, such as meeting requests, personal information management (PIM) facilitating links with Palm Pilots and other PDAs as well as Windows CE devices.
Open Office is another package gaining in popularity because it is 99% compatible will all MS Office files.
Linux
Although not the only Open Source software on the market, the widespread acceptance of Linux in this arena is a fact.
Linux supporters come from a broad cross section of the business and commercial sectors. They include systems technologists, financial experts and business systems consultants. Each group has its own reasons for backing the open source movement.
One of the most prevalent is that Linux applications can run on older, often outdated machines. This is an important benefit for cash strapped organisations, particularly those in the public sector.
Other advantages of Linux include improved task-based functionality and better support for multi-user environments.
Finally, vendor independence is also a key issue. The number of Linux-orientated companies is growing exponentially.
Access to more resellers - and marketplace competition - can assist users to gain increased performance at minimal cost, always a key benefit for any company.
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