Is ignorance open source’s biggest enemy?
Yes! In fact that’s why I love my job so much. I get to go out and help educate librarians about what open source really is. I get to write here and I get to read all kinds of neat articles like this one on ZDNet Australia.
In April, ZDNet.com.au revealed that a number of high-profile government CIOs claimed their primary reason for not deploying open source software was a lack of support.
“For our really big core stuff, we really need the support we get. We buy the support, so we’re not likely to see massive open source right through the place,” said Centrelink CIO, John Wadeson.
Simon Phipps, chief open source officer for Sun Microsystems, argues that support for open source projects of any scale is available, and has suggested that reliance on proprietary vendors based solely on their ability to provide support is not a sound business case.
“CIOs who are thinking there’s a lack of support are probably people who are thinking solely in terms of spreading the risk over their existing infrastructure,” he said.
Phipps claimed that the “commercial strength support” available for open source is comparable with that provided by proprietary vendors. He also explained that administrators have the option of “hiring experts to join their staff”.
The fact that those who get to make decisions in our organizations aren’t educated about what open source really is is what’s stopping libraries (and other organizations) from adopting more open source applications.
When I talk to librarians, I don’t just focus on the ILS, but open source alternatives to many of the applications we use on a daily basis. I’ve had librarians tell me that they can’t use Firefox because their IT staff thinks that it’s insecure. Libraries are paying thousands of dollars for Microsoft Office licenses for public computers when they could use something like Open Office.
Matt Asay of CNET News comments on this article:
How many years has open-source been around? It’s shocking to continue to see unmitigated ignorance of the breadth and depth of open-source software and support thereof. Unfortunately, the ignorance is generally at the top of the IT hierarchy. CIOs apparently have no clue that they’re running open source in abundance, and often paying for excellent support thereof.
I guess I have a lot of work ahead of me 
July 1st, 2008 at 3:03 am
I come from a background in open source, and while I think ignorance is a big part of the problem, I also think that open source software often lacks “a voice” during bureaucratic selection processes in large organisations. Commercial companies send representatives to argue for their software; I am interested in your opinion on how to argue for open source software in processes like tenders.
July 1st, 2008 at 5:41 am
I know that our company goes out to libraries interested in hearing about open source - just like the larger vendors do. We also offer online demos (with a host).
I’m not sure what else can be done - as you implied - it is harder when your company is smaller than others.