Most of our fellow web heads use Internet Explorer to browse the net. However, more and more are using Firefox, the free open source platform. In fact, there have been almost 200 million downloads to date. In
IBM has embraced open source with both arms. Red Hat is a billion-dollar company that focuses solely on open source integration and implementation (namely the Linus operating system). With $300M in annual revenue and a profit margin of nearly 27%, Red Hat has proven the financial viability of riding the open source train.
One company watching the open source content management and intranet sector closely is Optaros. An Optaros survey released last Christmas highlights the potential value of using Open Source.
The study was conducted in August and September 2005 with responses from 512
Sampled companies ranged in size from small organizations with revenue under $50 million to large organizations with revenues over $1 billion. The move to open source software is in part explained by the cost savings that companies are generating. Organizations with annual revenue of more than $1 billion saved an average $3.3 million in 2004 from their open source software. Medium-sized companies (with revenues between $50 million and $1 billion) saved an average $1.1 million, and companies less than $50 million saved about $500,000. Several survey respondents reported substantial savings: a technology company cut costs by $20 million, and four companies (three of them telecommunications firms) each saved $10 million last year.
Gaining in popularity are open source business applications software such as portals and content management systems. Some 42% of the survey participants had open source portals and content management systems that supported a single function. Some 16% used open source customer relationship management systems, a percentage that will double in the next three years.
Open source content management is becoming hot. Seth Gottlieb is the Content Management and Collaboration Lead at Optaros and he
Yes, we are using open source, and we're doing a good job with it. If you're used to other operating systems, it does take time to get used to. But once you get the hang of it, there's not much difference at all. I'm still new to open source so I have yet to make the assessment as to its efficiency. Thanks for the info you have here!
Hi. This is Seth here. I just wanted to clarify on my “favorite” CMS. While I like Plone (both using and developing) I don't have a favorite CMS. They are all so different and have different strenghts and weaknesses. The right CMS for the job depends on the business requirements. For example, we recently launched the optaros.com website on eZ publish. One of the major drivers of this decision was the way eZ publish handles localized content. We work in English, German, and French speaking markets so our content needs to be localized to each of those three languages. Plone does something similar through the LinguaPlone add-on product but it is not as tightly integrated to the core.
The number of open source choices is both good and bad. Good, because you have many options that you could make work. Bad because the selection is often overwhelming. I guess that goes for the commercial CMS market as well.
It was great to meet the Prescient team. Having an understanding of the business and operational aspects of content management is so important and often overlooked in a marketplace that is dominated by software vendors drawing attention to features rather than requirements.
Many thanks for the comment Meikah. Glad to hear it's working for you. Are you using any open source Six Sigma programs?
Regards,
Toby Ward
Great comments and perspective Seth – thanks for the post! We'll be watching Optaros and your opinions on the evolving open source market — particularly those platforms such as CMS tools that intimately relate to intranets and are highly relevant to the readers of this news blog.
Cheers,
Toby Ward
Nice article, thanks
On a slightly tangential note, making revenues from free & open source software is one of the most frequently asked questions these days. While there have been a few successful examples of companies (like MySQL, Red Hat etc) which are making money, I
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