Chapter 10. Open Source Empowerment

For those of us who toil in IT, the puzzle that open source represents really is just a new version of the choice to build or to buy. Open source offers a "middle" way, a way to acquire technology that is almost built, without having to buy.

However, choosing to use open source changes a company that takes up the challenge, which is perhaps its biggest reward. Building the skill to handle open source empowers a company to save money, attract more talented employees, gain more leverage when negotiating with vendors, and, most of all, better meet the needs of a business. This final chapter will take a look at important issues that will arise in choosing to use open source, and the way an IT department will be transformed once that choice is made.

One of the strongest objections voiced regarding the use of open source in the enterprise is the lack of "one throat to choke." This concept refers to the accountability that commercial vendors have for solving problems with their products. IT departments get a feeling of comfort from knowing that if anything goes wrong with a commercial product, they can always call up the vendor and get some sort of assistance, or at least have someone to yell at. Oh, and let's not forget, having someone to blame. Commercial open source support companies think they will be successful because they will become the "one throat to choke" for open source.

Examined closely, one throat to choke is a pathetic form of recourse for an IT executive. It is like a salesperson hiring a sales consultant to have someone to blame in case he does not make his quota. Nobody managing a sales staff would ever stand for this.

IT executives should know the products they rely on, what they do well, and what they do poorly. When problems arise, they should have contingency plans and failovers in place that provides adequate time for problem solving. Needing one throat to choke means an IT executive is not doing his job of understanding requirements, making appropriate choices, and designing robust systems. IT departments that use vendor software in the way that it is intended do not need one throat to choke.

To be the sort of IT executive that does not need one throat to choke you have to be confident that you understand the products you are choosing, and that you understand your needs. From such a perspective, open source is much less scary.

If an IT executive or anyone else claims that open source is not viable because they want one throat to choke, perhaps the response should be "Why are we planning on having any throats to choke?"