Open Source Blog

As can be seen from this diagram (© Optaros) the methods of software selection are quite different.

According to Optaros:

"While the gathering of requirements is still a key task in the beginning, it is recommended to leave more freedom for multiple approaches to solve a problem with open source. In the commercial software world, there are vendors to continuously inform their customer base and to answer large RFIs (requests for information), RFPs (requests for proposal) or RFQs (requests for quotation), and there is often neither the capacity nor the local presence available with open source projects and companies to do so.

Contract negotiations are often not needed and proof of concept steps can be performed in a couple of days in many cases."

The mention of RFPs makes is interesting given this report by my ComputerWire colleague Patrick O'Brien:

"The CEO of advisory firm Everest Group has challenged the view that the current RFP stage of the outsourcing tender process is a necessary evil, claiming customers should instead liaise directly with vendors at a much earlier stage in complex deals."

Everest's Peter Bendor-Samuel advocates a "joint design" method that sounds a lot more like the method Optaros described.

I'd be interested to know if other open source vendors see things the same way that Optaros does, and if the more ad hoc process by which open source software is selected can be expected to change over time as it is used for more mission critical projects.