Support
A typical argument against open source software is the lack of support. That there isn't a single company that delivers support for an open source software package doesn't mean there is no support. In fact, there is almost more support available for open source software compared to its proprietary brethren.

One of the ways in which companies make money from open source is through support services. Companies like IBM, Novell, Red Hat, and HP have realized the value of open source solutions and have chosen to offer support for many of them in an attempt to stay competitive. Since the code is available for all to view, it squashes the many-to-one traditional model of support characteristic of proprietary software support. Instead, open source software relies on a many-to-many support model.

Rather than having to depend on a single vendor for support needs, users of open source software can review and edit code as needed, look to one of the many vendors providing support, or turn to the community of developers available on newsgroups. It may seem counter-intuitive, but even without a central support node, in many cases open source software offers a greater level of support when compared to comparable proprietary software.

Licensing
For businesses choosing to simply use open source software, licensing is mostly irrelevant, as all open source software is free to use and modify. For end-users, utilizing the software is meant to achieve business or technological benefits, and not meant to profit from the software itself. Licensing is more critical for developers or those businesses that wish to resell software.

In the course of adopting open source software, it may be discovered the software doesn't quite meet the business or technical requirements. To resolve the problem, a company can develop the needed functionality itself, seek help from the open source community, or seek support from a vendor selling open source support. Users are not restricted from creating and using the new, modified software. Thus, a web professional can leverage an application at no cost, modify it as desired, use it in the course of commercial business, and profit by it in interactions with their customers. But if this same web professional wishes to redistribute or resell the software, then licensing becomes a greater concern.

Before an organization redistributes or resells open source software, it must understand that while the software may be free to use, it is not free of obligations. Therefore, if a business wishes to use any open source software it is important for them to understand the license. Each open source solution, depending on the developer and many other factors, may have different licensing requirements and arrangements, and it is important to fully research those before using, modifying, or attempting to redistribute a program. For a better understanding of open source licensing and questions about legal issues, we direct you to the Open Source Initiative.

The next section introduces a number of customer studies where companies have successfully deployed and realized benefits from open source software. Read on >>

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