Open source 'attractive to businesses'

14:10 2nd November 2009

A growing number of businesses may look to invest in open source software in the future, in a move that could herald a major shift in programming careers within the IT industry.

"I can understand from a business point of view, and a cost point of view, that open source software could be very attractive," said Paul Cronin, the director of risk management service provider Pentura.

"I use a lot of open-source, so when I get an issue I've got to then rely on the community to help me resolve those issues and nine times out of ten they've been better than when I've used commercial-type software," he added.

This suggests that although the same kind of support available with commercial technology does not exist for open source users, the IT industry has a wealth of knowledge and experience that businesses could tap into as a way to help them when using open source software.

A recent survey by Which? Computing found that a consumer could save over £1,000 on software just by migrating their applications from commercial ones to open source ones.

Written by Hannah James

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