FEATURE: OPEN SOURCE
FOR MOST ENTERPRISES,
THE BIGGEST
ROADBLOCK TO
ADOPTION OF OPEN
SOURCE SOLUTIONS IS
SKEPTICISM AROUND
SECURITY. ONE
FREQUENTLY CITED
MISCONCEPTION IS
THAT OPEN SOURCE
SOLUTIONS ARE
MORE VULNERABLE
TO SECURITY
THREATS THAN
THEIR PROPRIETARY
COUNTERPARTS, IN
LARGE PART BECAUSE
THE SOURCE CODE IS
OPENLY AVAILABLE
cut it. Building an open source practice
requires a different business model, skill
set and sales approach.
its own needs, and proceeds to make
the code available for others to view,
copy, learn from, alter or share.
Embrace a new business model
The fundamental difference between
proprietary and open source software
solutions lies in the development model.
In proprietary solutions, the source
code remains the sole property of the
original authors, the only people legally
allowed to make changes to it. On the
other hand, in open source solutions, an
organisation creates a piece of code for
While this might be stating
the obvious, it is the economic
implications that are important and
relevant for partners. Organisations
that sell proprietary software need to
recoup significant development costs
and to that end, sell their software
using a one-time license model. In
this model, a significant portion of the
solution cost is accounted for by the
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hardware, which doesn’t leave much
for spend on services.
On the other hand, open source
solutions are sold using a servicebased subscription model where the
subscription fee accounts for less than
half of the cost while support services
account for the balance.
Given the difference in how the two
solutions are monetised, partners
choosing to sell open source solutions
will need to change their business
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