Leveraging Open Source Technology


Open Source applications can bring unique value to business owners. Since the base application development costs of open source applications is free, small and medium business owners are able to leverage previously unobtainable technolgies against their sales objectives, operational costs and customer satisfaction levels.

Most small and medium businesses cannot afford the typical IT infrastructure model - nor does it make sense even if it is within their budget. Consider the following expenses:

  • Hardware Infrastructure (Servers, Routers, etc)

  • Bandwith

  • Software licenses

  • Software maintenance

  • IT Staff

The creation, countinued adoption and proliferation of Linux (Open Source Operating System) in many server installations across the world has changed the way businesses run their IT operations. Although Linux is not yet a viable technolgy in the workstation model, it most certainly has gained a large market share in the server/application world. Companies adopting Linux into their server environment have realized the decreased costs, increased efficiency and increased security associated with this platform. The secret is now out and organizations are jumping the Microsoft ship at an ever increasing rate. This trend has not been lost on the major players in the IT industry, as IBM and Novell have been furiously waving the Linux banner and adopting the Linux penguin into all their marketing efforts over the last 12-24 months.

What does this mean to the typical Small & Medium Business Owner?

Since the proliferation of Linux, many applications have been developed by programmers from around the world to run on this platform. Pretty much any application a business could require, no matter how specialized, can now be found in the Open Source community. By choosing an ASP (Application Service Provider) provider that has experience with these applications, and the necessary infrastructure to host, manage & support these applications for you, a business owner can now leverage core business applications at a fraction of traditional, "expected" costs. Although IBM has never been able to capitalize or deliver on their now famous marketing slogan "Pay like a little guy, Play like a big guy" - Savy business owners are learning how to accomplish this, even if it isn't by calling IBM.

Enterprise level applications such as eCommerce, CRM, Content Management and Portals are now available for 100's of dollars setup, not 10's of thousands or 100's of thousands dollars. Combine this with low, fixed operational monthly hosting and support fees - effectively eliminating infrastructure, IT staff, software and bandwith expenses - and the value statement becomes VERY strong for the typical business owners.

Other advantages with Open Source applications:

  • Real time updates and upgrades. No more waiting for your vendor to release the next version before bugs &/or security holes are patched.

  • Once a bug is identified and validated, the Open Source community is quick to release a fix.

  • Open source means open and available code - unlike various proprietary systems, where source code is not available - application integration is now affordable and possible, even for small business.


More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More E-Commerce Information:

Related Articles

Starting An E-Commerce Business
The development and expansion of the Internet has made business opportunities, once only available to the wealthy, available to nearly everyone. In the past, opening a business was a huge commitment in terms of finances and risk.
Is ClickBanks Popularity Drawing To An End?
ClickBank is the Internet's most popular payment processor for online payments but with many rivals appearing on the scene is ClickBank's popularity drawing to an end?ClickBank allows website owners to accept credit and debit card payments online and then deliver the products to their customers instantly. Since August 2005, ClickBank has integrated with PayPal so that people who either do not have a credit or debit card or choose not to use their cards online, can now pay using funds from their PayPal account instead.
Dont give up on your business!
Summer must be when many work at home Mom start to think that their business is a flop and begin to look for a new opportunity. This is fine if your business is truly a flop - but chances are, you just need to take a look at it from a fresh perspective.
Writing Web Pages: Get To The Meat Faster
Much of my consulting work comprises writing 'Outside Opinion' reports on the sites of large companies and organizations. Sometimes I review just a few pages, sometimes fifty or more.
How To Stay Cutting Edge In Online Business
Let's face it, there's just way too much information out there for any one individual to try to keep abreast of. And yet, if we shut ourselves off from the world, we risk building our businesses in a vacuum and suffering on the bottom line.
Shopping Online: What You Should Know
For some people, shopping online is as normal as driving a car. It's become part of the norm.
Effective Management Of Your Customer Services
With a third party merchant account you will have a dedicated 24/7 support team to handle your credit card payment on your behalf as part of your package. You will also need to provide your own support for issues relating directly to your product.
Online Payments Make It Easy For Your Customers To Buy
In the last column we discussed the process of credit card enabling your brick-and-mortar business. I pointed out that research has shown that accepting credit cards can help increase revenue and speed up cash flow.
Tell Site Visitors What To Do
Your site visitors make all the choices when it comes to browsing the Web.No other medium gives users, readers or customers such control over their own experience.
Why This Is The Perfect Time To Start Charging For Website Subscriptions
If you're a writer, researcher, subject matter expert, enthusiastic hobbyist, or an authority on almost any topic, there has never been a better time to start your own subscription website or online newsletter.And if you're already publishing a hobby website, now is the ideal time to convert at least a portion of the content to fee-paid access.
The Census and the E-Commerce Wave
Understanding business and product sales can sometimes put me in a whirlwind. My job tends to get me involved with loads of different opportunities dealing with all sorts of product lines.
Ecommerce Marketing Plan
Concept of ServiceThe current work deals with marketing offer of e-commerce service. It highlights the essential steps of marketing of a brand-new firm offering services of website construction, design, programming, development, and promotion.
How to Boost Conversion Rates, While Lowering Merchant Account Fees!
Using an Address Verification System (AVS) when processing your online credit card transactions can help to reduce the number of fraudulent transactions you receive. However, most online merchants don't know that using AVS can also reduce your number of legitimate orders.
What is SSL (the little padlock)?
SSL ("Secured Socket Layer") is a protocol used to encrypt the communication between the user's browser and the web server. When SSL is active, a "little padlock" appears on the user's browser, usually in the status line at the bottom (at the top for Mac/Safari users.
Online Shopping: Legal Challenges for Taxing Authorities
E-commerce offers customers the chance to eliminate many stages in the sales/distribution chain. The mark-ups that occur between manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers and consumers can add the cost of goods purchased by consumers.
E-Gold
E-gold is a digital currency, used extensively on the Internet for making payments in exchange for goods and services.It is one of the first digital e-currency providers, having started in 1996.
Selling Online for Newbies
If you are interested in selling online, it is quite easy to get started. First of all you must have a product or service to sell.
Two Pillars of a Successful Web Site
For a web site to get close to fulfilling its potential, you need absolute clarity on two points. First, achieve clarity on what your site's core purpose is Is to provide information? Is it to complete direct sales? Is it to drive prospects to pick up the phone and call you? Is it to start a free trial? To register? The more companies I work with, especially larger ones, the more apparent it becomes to me that very few sites have absolute clarity of purpose.
Electronic Commerce Tax Jurisdiction and Principles of Permanent Establishment
The principle of "permanent establishment" is very important for avoidance the conflict of law of matter connected imposition of taxation. In the absence of a permanent establishment, a country where goods or services are sold has no jurisdiction to tax the resulting profits.
12 Powerful Ways To Use Autoresponders That Will Take YOU To The Top
If only I had known that autoresponders are a necessity to your online business when I first ventured online, I would have saved a lot of time and money. You have to automate in as many areas as possible and if used responsibly, autoresponders can be your best friend.