| Overview
Open source software is changing the world of Information
Technology. But making it work for your company is far more
complicated than simply installing a copy of Linux. If you are
serious about using open source to cut costs, accelerate
development, and reduce vendor lock-in, you must institutionalize
skills and create new ways of working. You must understand how open
source is different from commercial software and what
responsibilities and risks it brings. Open Source for the
Enterprise is a sober guide to putting open source to work in
the modern IT department.
Open source software is software whose code is freely available
to anyone who wants to change and redistribute it. New commercial
support services, smaller licensing fees, increased collaboration,
and a friendlier platform to sell products and services are just a
few of the reasons open source is so attractive to IT departments.
Some of the open source projects that are in current, widespread
use in businesses large and small include Linux, FreeBSD, Apache,
MySQL, PostgreSQL, JBOSS, and Perl. These have been used to such
great effect by Google, Amazon, Yahoo!, and major commercial and
financial firms, that a wave of publicity has resulted in recent
years, bordering on hype. Large vendors such as IBM, Novell, and
Hewlett Packard have made open source a lynchpin of their
offerings. Open source has entered a new area where it is being
used as a marketing device, a collaborative software development
methodology, and a business model. This book provides something far more valuable than either the
cheerleading or the fear-mongering one hears about open source. The
authors are Dan Woods, former CTO of TheStreet.com and a consultant
and author of several books about IT, and Gautam Guliani, Director
of Software Architecture at Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions. Each
has used open source software for some 15 years at IT departments
large and small. They have collected the wisdom of a host of
experts from IT departments, open source communities, and software
companies. Open Source for the Enterprise provides a top to bottom
view not only of the technology, but of the skills required to
manage it and the organizational issues that must be addressed.
Here are the sorts of questions answered in the book: Why is there a "productization gap" in most open source
projects? How can the maturity of open source be evaluated? How can the ROI of open source be calculated? What skills are needed to use open source? What sorts of open source projects are appropriate for IT
departments at the beginner, intermediate, advanced, and expert
levels? What questions need to be answered by an open source
strategy? What policies for governance can be instituted to control the
adoption of open source? What new commercial services can help manage the risks of open
source? Do differences in open source licenses matter? How will using open source transform an IT department?
Praise for Open Source for the Enterprise: "Open Source
has become a strategic business issue; decisions on how and where
to choose to use Open Source now have a major impact on the overall
direction of IT abilities to support the business both with
capabilities and by controlling costs. This is a new game and one
generally not covered in existing books on Open Source which
continue to assume that the readers are 'deep dive' technologists,
Open Source for the Enterprise provides everyone from
business managers to technologists with the balanced view that has
been missing. Well worth the time to read, and also worth
encouraging others in your enterprise to read as well." ----Andy
Mulholland - Global CTO Capgemini "Open Source for the Enterprise is required reading for
anyone working with or looking to adopt open source technologies in
a corporate environment. Its practical, no-BS approach will make
sure you're armed with the information you need to deploy
applications successfully (as well as helping you know when to say
"no"). If you're trying to sell open source to management, this
book will give you the ammunition you need. If you're a manager
trying to drive down cost using open source, this book will tell
you what questions to ask your staff. In short, it's a clear,
concise explanation of how to successfully leverage open source
without making the big mistakes that can get you fired." ----Kevin
Bedell - founding editor of LinuxWorld Magazine
Editorial ReviewsProduct DescriptionOpen source software is changing the world of Information Technology. But making it work for your company is far more complicated than simply installing a copy of Linux. If you are serious about using open source to cut costs, accelerate development, and reduce vendor lock-in, you must institutionalize skills and create new ways of working. You must understand how open source is different from commercial software and what responsibilities and risks it brings. Open Source for the Enterprise is a sober guide to putting open source to work in the modern IT department. Open source software is software whose code is freely available to anyone who wants to change and redistribute it. New commercial support services, smaller licensing fees, increased collaboration, and a friendlier platform to sell products and services are just a few of the reasons open source is so attractive to IT departments. Some of the open source projects that are in current, widespread use in businesses large and small include Linux, FreeBSD, Apache, MySQL, PostgreSQL, JBOSS, and Perl. These have been used to such great effect by Google, Amazon, Yahoo!, and major commercial and financial firms, that a wave of publicity has resulted in recent years, bordering on hype. Large vendors such as IBM, Novell, and Hewlett Packard have made open source a lynchpin of their offerings. Open source has entered a new area where it is being used as a marketing device, a collaborative software development methodology, and a business model. This book provides something far more valuable than either the cheerleading or the fear-mongering one hears about open source. The authors are Dan Woods, former CTO of TheStreet.com and a consultant and author of several books about IT, and Gautam Guliani, Director of Software Architecture at Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions. Each has used open source software for some 15 years at IT departments large and small. They have collected the wisdom of a host of experts from IT departments, open source communities, and software companies. Open Source for the Enterprise provides a top to bottom view not only of the technology, but of the skills required to manage it and the organizational issues that must be addressed. Here are the sorts of questions answered in the book: - Why is there a "productization gap" in most open source projects?
- How can the maturity of open source be evaluated?
- How can the ROI of open source be calculated?
- What skills are needed to use open source?
- What sorts of open source projects are appropriate for IT departments at the beginner, intermediate, advanced, and expert levels?
- What questions need to be answered by an open source strategy?
- What policies for governance can be instituted to control the adoption of open source?
- What new commercial services can help manage the risks of open source?
- Do differences in open source licenses matter?
- How will using open source transform an IT department?
Praise for Open Source for the Enterprise: "Open Source has become a strategic business issue; decisions on how and where to choose to use Open Source now have a major impact on the overall direction of IT abilities to support the business both with capabilities and by controlling costs. This is a new game and one generally not covered in existing books on Open Source which continue to assume that the readers are 'deep dive' technologists, Open Source for the Enterprise provides everyone from business managers to technologists with the balanced view that has been missing. Well worth the time to read, and also worth encouraging others in your enterprise to read as well." ----Andy Mulholland - Global CTO Capgemini "Open Source for the Enterprise is required reading for anyone working with or looking to adopt open source technologies in a corporate environment. Its practical, no-BS approach will make sure you're armed with the information you need to deploy applications successfully (as well as helping you know when to say "no"). If you're trying to sell open source to management, this book will give you the ammunition you need. If you're a manager trying to drive down cost using open source, this book will tell you what questions to ask your staff. In short, it's a clear, concise explanation of how to successfully leverage open source without making the big mistakes that can get you fired." ----Kevin Bedell - founding editor of LinuxWorld Magazine |
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Reader Reviews From Amazon (Ranked by 'Helpfulness') Average Customer Rating: based on 4 reviews. A methodical look into the realities of open source software use., 2005-11-13 Reviewer rating: "Open Source for the Enterprise" is a well thought out and methodical look into the realities of open source software use. This is a practical guide for navigating its introduction into an organization and the approaches for properly evaluating its fit and governance. The authors provide a set of strategies and artifacts for helping to establish and communicate whether or not open source software would be effective within an organization. Topics such as comparing and assuming risk; evaluating the costs and return; adoption and governance; indemnification and licensing are all covered very well. The last quarter of the book provides a topical look at common open source platforms for desktop solutions, email, collaboration, content management, and application development. While the coverage presented is not inclusive of the entire offerings available, the preeminent projects for each category are evaluated.
I enjoyed this book. I reveled when reading the authors' analogy of an architect approaching management about starting an open source software initiative to that of a child asking a parent for a puppy. This was presented during the subject of "Preventing an Open Source Nightmare". This section threw some reality into my fervor for evangelizing open source within my own company and drove home the authors' point that reckless enthusiasm is not the way. I believe that anyone considering the use of open source platforms, tools, or end-user applications within their organization would be well-served by reading this text cover-to-cover. | OPEN SESAME, 2005-09-06 Reviewer rating: Using open source is profoundly exciting to everyone involved in the process. That's one of its problems. Authors Dan Woods and Gautam Guliani have done an outstanding job of writing the perfect guide that will make open source work for you.
Woods and Guliani begin by explaining the origins, evolution and life cycle of open source; and, evaluating its potential benefits for the enterprise. Next, the authors show you how to determine the quality of an open source project; and, whether it is right for your company. Then, they present an analysis of the knowledge required to effectively implement open source; and, discuss how an enterprise can build skills from within. Woods and Guliani continue by showing you how to calculate the return on investment of open source; and, make a compelling case to management. In addition, the authors next explore a low-risk plan for adopting and applying open source. They also examine where to find help in implementing open source projects; and, how to evaluate competing offers. The authors next show you how to close the productization gap; and, expand the opportunities for open source deployment. Next, the authors discuss the legal underpinnings of open source licensing, with evaluations of GPL, Copyleft, LGPL, BSD and others. Woods and Guliani continue by examining FUD, the legal challenges being mounted against open source, and how an enterprise can manage the risks involved. Finally, they cover build versus buy, the middle road less taken, and how using open source will change your IT department for the better.
With the preceding in mind, the authors have done an excellent job of designing an open source book that shows you how to get it right through prudence, patience, and a methodical search for risks and ways to remedy them. At the end of the day, open source should play some role in most IT departments, including yours.
| A rational approach to open source adoption..., 2005-09-05 Reviewer rating: All too often, the discussion about using open source software in an organization takes on an emotional or political tone. And since most information about open source decisions tends to feed that emotion, it's nice to find a book that tries to look at the subject from a rational perspective. This book does a very good job of that... Open Source For The Enterprise by Dan Woods and Gautam Guliani.
Contents: The Nature of Open Source; Measuring the Maturity of Open Source; The Open Source Skill Set; Making the ROI Case; Designing an Open Source Strategy; Support Models for Open Source; Making Open Source Projects Easy to Adopt; A Comparison of Open Source Licenses; Open Source Under Attack; Open Source Empowerment; The Open Source Platform; End-User Computing and the Desktop; Open Source and Email; Groupware, Portals, and Collaboration; Web Publishing and Content Management; Application Development; Index
As I stated above, open source technology books (covering the topic as a whole, not individual projects) tend to be "rah-rah" in nature, pitting the plucky open source alternatives against the big evil proprietary software companies. While I may just happen to lean in that direction, it's not very helpful if you're trying to make a solid business case for adopting a corporate open source strategy. You need to concentrate on risks, financial return on investment, support issues, and all the other things that apply to *any* software used in your organization. Woods and Guliani do a very good job in aiming for, and hitting, that target. While they believe in the promise of open source, they give the reader some solid tools to judge whether a particular open source alternative is worthy to explore. For instance, some open source projects take off and soar, while others languish with no activity after a few months. By checking release levels, discussion boards, documentation quality, etc., you can mitigate the risk of committing to a project that doesn't continue to grow. Conversely, if you find a project that addresses a need but may not be overly active, they provide guidance on what type of skill base you'll need to have or acquire to take the development in house.
Open Source For The Enterprise is one of those books that you should see in a number of organizations, helping management and techies come together to make rational business decisions that benefit the company and not someone's resume. Very good material... | Excellent resource for the open source developer, 2005-08-26 Reviewer rating: This is an excellent introduction to managing and developing open source project, as well as for judging the health of projects you would like to use in the enterprise. The text is well written and engaging. There is management level material here on risk analysis, project management and methods for evaluating open source projects. |
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