spending

Analysts wake up to open source

For years, the analyst community has largely ignored open source or, worse, has actively advised against it. While there are exceptions--Forrester, The 451 Group, Redmonk--the general mood in the analyst community seems to be one of steadfast denial of open-source's impact on computing.

Ignoring open source is a bit like denying gravity, however, and even open-source agnostics like IDC and Gartner are now stating the obvious:

Open source is having a massive impact on enterprise computing, and it's becoming big business.

IDC, for example, significantly revised upward its estimate of the market size for open-source solutions, now projecting … Read more

Open-source cost savings: The video (director's cut)

Open source delivers significant cost savings, and the market is taking notice: IDC has significantly revised upwards its estimates of global revenue from open-source software. IDC now expects worldwide open-source revenue to grow at a 22.4 percent compound annual growth rate to top $8.1 billion by 2013.

That's a lot of money for free stuff.

The reasons, as I wrote on Wednesday, are clear: open source delivers increased flexibility, improved performance, vendor independence, and, yes, cost savings. According to Computerworld UK, London Paper reports saving 66 percent by using an open-source CMS (Drupal). The Gap, meanwhile, dumped Windows for Red Hat offerings … Read more

Beyond the hype: Where open source actually saves you money

Talk to any open-source vendor (myself included), and we'll tell you that there's a lot of money to be saved by dropping your proprietary software in favor of open-source alternatives. But is that always the case? And, if so, what are the necessary preconditions for saving money?

I chaired a panel at OSCON 2009 where we explored this topic, with some interesting results.

Jeffrey Hammond, a senior analyst with Forrester, provided the underlying data, but Matt Deuel (Virgin Mobile) and Barry Klawans (San Francisco International Airport, IT&T Department) offered real-world experience deploying open-source software, while Zack … Read more

Report: 2009 to be PC industry's worst year since dot-com implosion

At the end of this year, the number of PCs shipped is expected to be lower than the previous year, a rarity for the industry.

In fact, it would be the first time that's happened since 2001, when the tech world collapsed in on itself, according to market research firm iSuppli. A report released Tuesday by iSuppli is projecting that 287.3 million PCs will be shipped in 2009, a 4 percent decrease from the 299.2 million shipped around the world in 2008.

And though expectations weren't particularly high for this year, the industry is now on … Read more

Open source rising as the economy continues to fall

The market is clearly racing toward a bottom when we start looking to Monty Python for business advice and the most lucid (if profane) analysis of Google's announced open-source operating system, Chrome OS, comes from Fake Steve Jobs.

However fast we may be "racing," however, we're not there yet.

At least, not according to a survey of 200 IT executives by Computer Economics, which finds:

About 49 percent of the IT executives surveyed plan to make further budget cuts in 2009. Almost 50 percent will spend less than what is allocated in their IT operational budget. … Read more

IT spending to drop 6 percent in '09, Gartner says

Hit by the economic downturn and fluctuating exchange rates, worldwide IT spending is expected to drop 6 percent this year, according to a new Gartner report.

Spending will likely settle in at $3.2 trillion for 2009, compared with $3.4 trillion in 2008. Last year, IT spending had actually surged by 6.2 percent over 2007.

Due to the ongoing recession, the projected 6 percent spending decline is greater than Gartner's original forecast of a 3.8 percent drop, which the firm made in March.

"While the global economic downturn shows signs of easing, this year IT … Read more

Legalized drugs, now open source. Those crazy Dutch!

While some organizations continue to hide their open-source adoption, NOiV (Nederland Open in Verbinding), has published a map of over 200 open-source products currently in use by the Dutch central government as of mid-2009. (Translation here.)

Spoiler alert: there's a whole lot of open source being used by the Dutch government.

NOiV concludes in its study (PDF) that that Dutch central government is on the right track with open source for the operating system (platform) and middleware, but is in a very early phase of looking at business applications.

The main obstacle for moving from closed to open source … Read more

New dashboard shows where federal IT tax dollars go

It's the age-old question. Where do our tax dollars go? Washington is using the Web to try to provide an answer, at least as it relates to information technology.

The IT Dashboard, a new tool from the USASpending.gov site, promises a behind-the-scenes look at how our tax dollars are spent on government IT. The site was unveiled Tuesday at the Personal Democracy Forum conference in New York by federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra and White House Director of New Media Macon Phillips.

A promising idea. But the site, which is still in beta, appears to have a … Read more

Dell, with $10 billion for M&A, to offer open source

According to BusinessWeek, Dell has amassed a $10 billion war chest with which it intends to buy BMC Software, Symantec, or another big technology company to expand into new markets--and particularly software markets--in a bid to boost profitability.

Yet even as Dell ponders where to spend its cash, it is reportedly rolling out a program to provide free, open-source applications to small and midsize businesses. The reason is simple, according to Amit Midha, president of Dell's Asia-Pacific and Japan region for the SMB business:

The more advanced the customers, the more likely they will adopt open source, because they … Read more