Open Source BI

[cmarinho]

Hi,

I'm a BI consultant with the wish that one day open source software will be just another component on BI solutions.

What I would like to know from you guys, base in your experience or not, what are the biggest resistance that exists regarding the use of open source in a professional environment in your opinion? And what advantages and disavantages do you believe that should be considered when choosing open source software?

Thanks

[jhonan]

what are the biggest resistance that exists regarding the use of open source in a professional environment in your opinion?

The businessman in a suit coming into the office with a slick presentation, a brochure with customer testimonials, and promises of 3 days training and 6 months implementation - Not forgetting support.

All for only 100k up-front and 60k/year thereafter.

[Random_Dude]

People are already used to MS products and don't want to change.
Imagine in a company if you change from MS Office to openoffice or libreoffice. Probably you'll get one or to people interested in the idea, but most will be terrified of change.

Besides, there is always that "if you don't pay, it's not good" mentality. Especially among people who are in charge and don't have that much experience with computers.

Cheers

[jhonan]

Besides, there is always that "if you don't pay, it's not good" mentality. Especially among people who are in charge and don't have that much experience with computers.

It's not really about how much experience with computers they have.

They want to pay for the reassurances they get. And it's often not their own money they're spending anyway! If an IT or Finance director has to implement a new system, they'll look at the one that gives them the most reassurance; loads of telephone support, lots of other happy enterprise customers. Then they'll get someone to sign a cheque.

I've seen situations where they honestly don't care if it's open source or not, as long as they have paid support and testimonials. These decision makers don't want to lose their jobs - That's paramount.

[Paqman]

Besides, there is always that "if you don't pay, it's not good" mentality.

People in business pay for their open source, too. Nobody tools up their business with software without buying some level of support. That's how open source companies make their money.

[Random_Dude]

It's not really about how much experience with computers they have.

They want to pay for the reassurances they get. And it's often not their own money they're spending anyway! If an IT or Finance director has to implement a new system, they'll look at the one that gives them the most reassurance; loads of telephone support, lots of other happy enterprise customers. Then they'll get someone to sign a cheque.

I've seen situations where they honestly don't care if it's open source or not, as long as they have paid support and testimonials. These decision makers don't want to lose their jobs - That's paramount.

Of course.
I'm not saying that the people in charge are some kind of stereotype boss (like in Dilbert). I'm just saying that there are a lot of people who still look at open-source with suspicion, because "there's no way software available for free is any good".

Another important reason is that openoffice is not 100% compatible with MS Office, and it's my reason for still using Windows.

Cheers

EDIT:

People in business pay for their open source, too. Nobody tools up their business with software without buying some level of support. That's how open source companies make their money.

I am aware of that, for some reason Red Hat is a successful company. I mean, software available for free.

[jhonan]

I think OP should clarify this statement; "what are the biggest resistance that exists regarding the use of open source in a professional environment"

Does resistance exist? - Are there examples of businesses rejecting open source solutions purely because they are open source?

[Macskeeball]

What does BI stand for in this case? A couple of Google searches brought up "Business Intelligence." Is that right?

[jhonan]

What does BI stand for in this case? A couple of Google searches brought up "Business Intelligence." Is that right?

Correct.

MIS kind of morphed into BI about ten years ago.