OSS seen as viable alternative

Recent IDC studies show that more organisations in the region have started to evaluate open source software (OSS) as a viable business alternative in bids to reduce costs.According to the recent APAC report, titled “Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) Open source Software Adoption in 2009,” the software with respondents from each market intending to use OSS were CRM applications (9.7%), database management (8.4%) and virtualisation software (7.4%).The verticals that planned to deploy OSS for CRM applications in the next 18 months were distribution services (13%), infrastructure (12%) and the public sector (11.8%).Market Analyst of Asia/Pacific Enterprise Applications Research at IDC Ridhi Sawhney said: “The public sector has started to consider open source not only because of the obvious benefits from cost reductions, but also with an aim to build an ecosystem, lower the entry barrier, and promote open source adoption.”Ridhi added: “Other perceived benefits of adopting open source, apart from the traditional cost savings, include no vendor lock-in, access to the source code, and the flexibility to further customise the software to match individual needs.”