Web terms SME operators need to understand #5: Open source

Few of the terms in this series of articles will inspire as much passion as “open source”.

Because for every fanatic, there is an equally passionate critic. Which can make it very hard for the ordinary business operator to work out just who to believe.

So what is this controversial source of many an industry debate?

Open source essentially refers to a movement which allows software and web developers access to the software “code” upon which software and web applications are built. In other words, it’s literally an international (programming) language that is developed and maintained by a community of programming professionals.

As such, it’s “owned” by nobody and everybody at the same time.

The alternative to open source software is “proprietary” software, ie. software that has been developed by a business whose ultimate mission is profitability for all concerned.

But we’ll talk more about proprietary systems next time.

Before we discuss the pros and cons of open source, it’s important to understand my relationship to it. I am neither a web developer nor web designer as such. I’m more of a “webmaster” or website and web project manager. What this means is that my job is to provide solutions that are the best fit for the organisation – open source, proprietary or custom built. This means that I have no allegiance to any one technology or technique – a rare commodity in the web world. 

Do open source and business mix?

The notion of open source software presents an interesting conundrum when considered in a business context. 

On the one hand you have affordable software that allows smaller businesses to use much the same technology that much larger businesses use.

On the other, because it isn’t “owned” by anyone, you are relying on the goodwill of the development community (often in conjunction with your web developer) to ensure that it continues to perform and improve.

Of course, despite not costing anything to any business that chooses to use it, it still requires some expertise to establish and customise websites and web platforms to the specifications and requirements of the organisation.

So while the “platform” may be free, the labour required to implement and maintain it isn’t. Unless of course you are lucky enough to have access to voluntary labour.

Cool features for nothing

But the benefits of open source website management platforms are significant. Most of the website features that smaller businesses relatively recently only dreamed about can be sourced at no cost at all.

The technology underlying some pretty sophisticated content management systems, online shopping carts, email broadcast solutions, survey builders, customer relationship management systems, etc, etc can all now be accessed for no cost at all.

Another advantage is that because it’s owned by the community, if something happened to your designer or developer, on most occasions, others versed in the software could pick up the reins and continue.

But as they say, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Committing to an open source system also has its drawbacks.

The not so obvious cons

For example, a developer often will have their own reasons to recommend one open source solution over another. And these reasons may not be in your best interests.

Then there are upgrades. Will your developer be prepared to provide ongoing upgrades to the software for no extra charge?

And when this virtual face of your business all of a sudden stops functioning for no apparent reason, who ultimately takes responsibility for it?

If worse came to worst, it’s very difficult to sue a team of volunteer enthusiasts (not that you can’t sue the person who recommended it to you in the first place).

Is your business reputation worth scrimping on?

One thing many open source enthusiasts fail to grasp is how important a public facing asset like a website is to a business.

When a solution is utilised within the walls of an organisation, any issues can usually be resolved without necessarily impacting customers. So using open source internally represents comparatively little risk.

But websites are completely exposed to the public. If something goes wrong, not only can the public encounter it at will, they can also very quickly spread news of it via the internet. Before long you have some very public egg on your face.

So is the reputation of the organisation worth scrimping what amounts to petty cash saved by relying on open source technologies?

Not likely.

So by all means, consider open source technology when considering your next website or web platform. But just make sure that you also consider the alternatives.

In addition to being a leading eBusiness educator to the smaller business sector, Craig Reardon is the founder and director of independent web services firm The E Team which was established to address the special website and web marketing needs of SMEs in Melbourne and beyond.