Open Source opens the door for companies that are looking to keep on growing despite the current environment.
By Martin Migoya Globant, CEO, Globant
Aug. 12, 2009
It is a fact that many corporations are starting to consider
Open Source technologies as a way to reduce IT spending while taking
advantage of existing technologies. It is also a fact that more
companies are widening Open Source reach to projects that wouldn't have
been considered before, opening more possibilities for the community to
spread.
For those who are unfamiliar with the term "Open Source," firstly let
me explain a bit more what this is about. In the 90s, the IT community
started to show increased interest in freely shared software. As a
result, the Open Source Initiative was born and, as described in their
website (opensource.org) it is considered "a development method for
software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and
transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality,
higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost and an end to
predatory vendor lock-in." Basically, it allows anyone to access freely
to an application code and reuse it under certain conditions.
Through the years I have worked in the IT industry -- and I have been
around here for quite some time, I have seen that Open Source is
becoming more and more popular at every level and sector. Many tech
professionals are aware of its cost benefits and thus are suggesting
the use of Open Source for new projects.
Open Source in 2009?
Moreover, as a recent article in Wall Street and Technology)
mentions, with the current economic situation cutting IT budgets, even
more institutions are reconsidering their attitudes toward open source
technology. Think about yourself and the company you work for: How many
projects did you want to launch but needed to be put off until next
year? How many business opportunities you believe you could have
embraced if your budget had been friendlier? I firmly believe
that Open Source opens the door for companies that are looking to keep
on growing despite the current environment. It is spreading its
influence among different kinds of companies. Some of the reasons
behind this trend include:
It is the perfect ally for budget management
Corporations
leveraging in Open Source technologies over the past few years have
demonstrated their ability to move quicker and at lower costs. That's
the case of those firms that, for instance, run SAP on Red Hat open
source platform.
It allows organizations to be on the edge of innovation and to stay ahead of the market, such as Skype, that is now using PostgreSQL
It
is extremely flexible. A company with the right skills and experience
may blend Open Source with existing proprietary software, therefore
taking advantage of already developed code and further reducing costs.
Six years ago, I founded Globant together with 3 friends. Since it was
born, the company has helped many of its customers, such as telcos,
media or coming from the finance, high tech or the travel industry,
profit from this rational blend of Open Source with commercial
software. It doesn't matter the industry they came from or the type of
solution they were seeking. Our team has developed both products for
large audiences and small scale internal solutions, and they have all
had excellent results. I always believed in the power of Open Source,
and these experiences turned Globant into an expert and an active
player of this movement, contributing with thousands of code lines to
the Open Source community for projects like Drupal Modules, Dedo, Dogo,
Rever and Collaborative Postcards.
I believe that opportunities are wide opened for those corporations
that want to continue working on innovative products and still remain
on the boundaries of their budget.
Martin Migoya Globant is CEO and Co-founder of Globant. Globant
combines a rational blend of Open-Source with proprietary software,
which brings flexibility, mitigates risk and ultimately reduces costs. www.globant.com -- opino en http://blog.martinolivera.com.ar
skype: hablatincho