THE TERM open source software (OSS) may not be familiar to everyone - but you’d have had to be hiding under a rock over the past few years to have not heard about Linux, the operating system that’s made massive inroads into the corporate computing space and, thanks to the efforts of people such as Mark Shuttleworth, is also penetrating the desktop market.

Though Linux is the most famous piece of OSS, it’s by no means the only one. There are literally thousands of computer programs out there that fall under the open source banner, some from large companies like Sun and IBM and others from small companies you’re never likely to hear of. The difference between OSS and software from a company such as Microsoft - called proprietary software - is that with OSS the licence to use the software allows people to freely distribute it and compels the company writing the program to provide not only the software but also the original code that makes up the program.  Imagine having your wedding photographs taken but having to go back to the photographer each time you wanted a reprint and being charged five times the cost of the print for the service. While you’d like to go to a cheaper option you can’t, because the photographer is the only person with access to the pictures. 

That does in fact happen. But it shouldn’t, because you paid for a service, having the software written or the photographs taken, yet you’re held hostage by the original service provider. While OSS isn’t always free, it does give its users the opportunity to do with it as they please and not be restricted by the rules imposed by the company that originally created the software. 

OSBC Open source is increasingly driving enterprise development projects and installations, but big customers still rely on start-up software providers for support.
A panel of customers at the Open Source Business Conference (OSBC) in San Francisco today agreed unanimously that open source enable them to kick-start projects they could otherwise not afford.

However, companies put the onus on open source software companies to step up and field questions, provide bug fixes, and to continually update their software.

Representatives from personal tax and accounting giant H&R Block, the Playstation operation of entertainment giant Sony, the Christian Science Monitor, and MIT told OSBC that support for emerging technologies is essential.

H&R Block’s use of open source spans Alfresco enterprise content management, Zimbra email, and Java Business Process Management (JPBM) in various public and internal projects.

Company architect Daniel Cahoon said using Alfresco rather than EMC’s Documentum meant H&R Block had paid one tenth of its regular software licensing. Alfresco charges $10,000 per socket for an unlimited number of users.

According to Cahoon, open source is important for proof-of-concept and development that would be too costly using closed source software.

He joked - at least we think he did - that support for Google Web Toolkit - used in one project - was thin on the ground as Google’s developers were all off writing books. “You have to be careful,” he warned those considering the open source route. “Don’t go after the niche, bleeding edge, cutting edge if you haven’t got the people internally.”

Oliver Marks, senior manger for the Playstation web portal - accessed by engineers - agreed: “We are looking for a really healthy support community. If my guys are too busy and can’t figure it out, there are problems.”

The panel expressed concern over the tendency for developers to congregate around some sets of features and customer requirements while leaving others relatively untouched. Gaps were highlighted in management administration tools for installing Linux and open source, building enhancements for proprietary software packages, and in enterprise-wide calendaring.

Marks, who had singled out open source calendaring, said: “If we were building something from IBM they might be able to steer their supertankers in that direction. But open source can be wild and woolly - it’s strong in some areas [not in others]. In an enterprise environment that can be very scary.”

Marks supported open source for freeing him from the tyranny of vendor roadmaps and for enabling greater freedom to innovate by running with the code. “We would be building with commercial software if it fitted out needs… [but] we have control and know what’s going on,” he said.

Russ Danner, software architect at the Christian Science Monitor, said open source lets his organization shape product development. By participating in design and coding through the community process, customers get more input than through the alpha and beta development cycles of enterprise vendors. “You get input at the beginning of the product upgrade cycle,” he said.

By combining Open Source software and offshore development, high quality, cost effective software is more easily obtainable. In fact, I suggest Open Source should always be a part of any outsourced software development, but that is a different topic. The focus of this article is how Open Source provides a foundation of trust and confidence when using and/or providing offshore software development services.  
When purchasing software development services, many people make the mistake of assuming that the only reason to choose one person/company over another are pure coding skills. Simple as that right? Wrong. Developers also assume the person/company procuring software development cares deeply about Java vs. .Net vs. PHP vs. RoR. Wrong. Well, ok, maybe both of these points are not entirely wrong. Yes, people do care about coding prowess and technology infrastructure, but I believe there are many other factors when making an outsourcing decision.
People who purchase software want to have confidence and trust in the people they choose to develop software. Confidence and trust can be earned over time, but how does it start? Well, of course, the software developer(s) needs to have good references, case studies, professionalism and applicable skill sets. But, even after reviewing these factors, there might still be nagging doubts about trusting someone you have never met and the person or company was not a referral from one of your contacts. 
Open source software is the foundation for confidence and trust when choosing to outsource software development. It is the catalyst to an acceptable answer to the “what is the worst that can happen” scenario. In other words, even if you make the wrong choice in outsource software development partner, your code, your infrastructure will still be based on Open Source which can be parlayed to different developers much faster than completely original code. In the worst case scenario, if the software being developed is not Open Source based, it will be much more difficult to replace the developers.
“Open Source” can mean different things to different people. In this article, my definition of Open Source is intended to mean complete products, tools, libraries, etc. with a vibrant community. (Read Succeeding with Open Source for one reference on choosing Open Source software) It does not simply mean the delivery of source code with the solution. In particular, the Open Source product, tool and or library needs to have other established resources, so new developers time spent analyzing code and infrastructure can be reduced. New developers to the project will spend much more time “getting up to speed” on architecture, if the software is not using community based Open Source software. 
When implementing an outsource development strategy, choose developers that will use Open Source software in the overall solution. Using Open Source in the solution provides a shorter path to confidence and trust in outsourced software developers. Put another way, open source plays a positive part in the risk management of the decision to outsource. By choosing offshore software development partners that deliver based on community established Open Source with appropriate license for your needs, quality and the most competitive cost can be obtained.

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Startups - Collaborative Software Initiative receives $1 million in seed money from OVP Venture Partners  Tuesday, April 17, 2007 MIKE ROGOWAY

Oregon’s open source software community marked a milestone Monday with the first company from its ranks to win the backing of venture capitalists.  The startup, called Collaborative Software Initiative, aims to coordinate software development among corporations. It’s founded by Stuart Cohen, who resigned last year after four years as chief executive of the Open Source Development Labs in Beaverton. OVP Venture Partners, which has offices in Portland, has contributed more than $1 million in seed money to launch the new company. Collaborative Software Initiative, CSI, is currently housed in OVP’s Portland office. When Cohen left Open Source Development Labs, an industry consortium that recently merged with another group to become The Linux Foundation, he said he wanted to build his own company. He’s been secretive about his plans until now. 

CSI’s goal, Cohen said Monday, is to give companies an alternative to expensive in-house software development or project outsourcing. At times when multiple companies have similar needs for new software, CSI aims to contract with all of them to create software they all can use. “You share the expense. You share the risk. You share the reward,” Cohen said. “We do it using an open source methodology.” Open source software is open for users to inspect or modify to suit their needs. CSI will license the final product as open source, so companies will be able to see and change the underlying software code. CSI hopes to profit from the initial development work and from service contracts to help its clients maintain and improve their software. CSI is working with Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM and others to identify potential collaborative projects. Cohen said his company is talking with the financial services industry, which is interested in using common software for regulatory compliance. CSI also hopes to work with state governments, which could potentially save money if multiple states develop software jointly. 

Oregon is home to several open source initiatives, including key open source work at IBM and Intel and academic research at Oregon State and Portland State. That concentration of activity has translated into few entrepreneurial initiatives here, however, even though open source is a hot technology among investors. Dow Jones VentureOne reports that venture capitalists have put more than $1.1 billion in open source startups over the past five years, none of which went to Oregon companies.  In addition to Cohen’s new business, a handful of other small Oregon entrepreneurs have begun working on their own open source startups. Cohen said state efforts to nurture the open source cluster may be starting to bear fruit. “There’s a lot of people with good ideas in Oregon that are looking at forming companies,” Cohen said. “I think the time is really right.” Mike Rogoway: 503-294-7699; mikerogoway@news.oregonian.com; blog.oregonlive.com/siliconforest

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