Open Source vs. Proprietary – A Cost-Saving Strategy (Part 2 of 3)

Benefits and Struggles of Proprietary

There is a constant argument over whether proprietary software or open-source software is the right way to go for a business and their content management (and other application) needs. We think the fact the argument takes place is a good thing, but our belief ultimately sides with open-source as the winner.

To get a better idea of some of the struggles (or benefits) of proprietary software, we’ve reached out to a guy we know, James Pautz, who works with a very large, local, and Microsoft-based manufacturer. James also is very into the WordPress world, and is continually expanding his design and development skills overall; you can check out his website at http://jamespautz.com/.

His experience is more in the role of content management overall, and has seen the internal struggles of proprietary software—mainly SharePoint and Titan CMS from Northwoods (a local CMS / software development company).

Kyle: James, how’s it going and tell us a little bit about what you do in your role with SharePoint?

James: It’s going well! In terms of my role with SharePoint, right now, nothing. My supervisor is currently training on SharePoint so that we can “rebrand” it to look like (or close to) the existing intranet so that the transition is smooth.

Kyle: What are some of the struggles you find working within a proprietarily-based environment?

James: We also have to rely on the company (Northwoods) that we bought the license from for additional functionality and maintenance. We also have to pay a lot of money for the initial license, development (initial and ongoing), upgrades, etc. Everything cost money. There isn’t a community of developers behind it, adding functionality and plugins and insight.

Kyle: What are some of the benefits?

James: There is a certain amount of support that is already paid for directly from the people who wrote the code.

Kyle: Do you find that an “enterprise” level software platform, such as SharePoint, offers you the tools and resources you need to accomplish your everyday duties, and goals given to you by “the guys upstairs” (for PC purposes, “guys” refers to any “person” in management, regardless of gender)?

James: Right now SharePoint is not even close to providing anything for our company. No one has really pursued it. It was paid for and that is about it. Titan CMS provides some of the tools, but is lacking in social functionality and blogging as an intranet platform and can be frustrating for accomplishing certain things on the back end (for me).

Kyle: Take that question one step further - do you find that platforms such as SharePoint allow you to do what you need to do, easily, efficiently, and in a way that ultimately gives the end user the utmost value?

James:The little I’ve played with SharePoint has led me to believe that certain things are done easily and others are convoluted. My daily experience with Titan has shown me that some things are easy, but many things aren’t logical and could definitely be easier. I think more value for the end user would be blogs and social features, things that Titan doesn’t have. From what I read, SharePoint 2013 has a lot more social functionality, but currently 2010 is really lacking in those areas.

Kyle: If not, what do you find to be the top 3 annoying struggles?

James:

1. Some basic features don’t exist
2. Some of the things it does do, it doesn’t do well or easily
3. There isn’t the freedom in proprietary software to accomplish outside the box thing or adding of features.

Kyle: What are some insights or opinions you’ve formed that you’d like to express to those who are in charge of maintaining, managing, developing or scoping out technology solutions, such as content management systems like SharePoint? (this is in reference to CTO’s, CIO’s, IT managers, IT directors, etc.)

James: ”You get what you pay for” is NOT always true when it comes to technology, especially with content management systems. Open source should always be an option, as long as you find a good developer who can work with it. Involve the “minions” who will be working with the CMS every day in the planning process.

Summary

Okay, so from an internal point of view, we can see that there are a number of struggles working with a proprietary package. From our point of view, there are a number of drawbacks to proprietary software, which is the reason our company has always chosen to go in the direction of open-source solutions for our clients. Namely, they are:

1. Flexibility & Expandability: You will be forced to purchase a license to use the software, and work directly with the company that sells it to you (whether it’s the actual developer, or a certified reseller). You will be stuck with what comes in the “box”, and only be able to expand based on their availability and / or add-on opportunities.
2. Cost: Five years ago we started our business. Four and a half years ago, we realized that we were going to be walking a long road (uphill, in the snow, both ways) to get through what was the economy dump at the time; as did many other businesses. While we are seeing a very positive turn around with the markets in general, and our clients are becoming increasingly optimistic about sustaining and growing their businesses again, cost is (and always will be) a question and sticking point. The cost of proprietary packages can cost hundreds, often thousands, and sometimes tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars—just to acquire the license. When you can compare that to the cost of FREE for open-source, and just the cost to hire a design / development firm to build it all, there is inherently a huge gap of bottom-line focused savings.
3. An Exit Plan: What happens if you hate the software? What happens if your relationship with the people you bought it from and that develop it for you, goes south? You’re more or less stuck because they built it and there’s not many, if any, others out there who can / will / are allowed to work with it. This, to us, is a huge restriction on a business, and one that can cost a business a lot of money.

Overall, we don’t see the value in proprietary as a flexible, usable solution. Some software packages are good—we have heard some good things about Titan CMS; however, we don’t like the culture behind it. We prefer the community, the flexibility, the expandability, the cost-saving opportunities, and the ability to assist our clients in many ways that we couldn’t if we went proprietary.

In the final leg of our series, we’ll dig into the benefits and struggles of open-source, and finalize our review.

In the meantime, if you have questions about open-source as a solution for your business, or would like to chime in on this ongoing “argument” between open-source and proprietary, feel free to do so in the comments below. We’ll respond to you as quickly and often as we are able, to answer any questions or provide any feedback.

As always though, keep it clean and nice, as we will always do the same :)

Cheers!