What is open-source software?

Open-source software is software which source code has been made available, and which can be used and adapted to suit your company's needs.

In the past few years, open-source software supply has increased considerably. In many different target areas one can select from a number of packages. A potential customer is being confronted with a serious selection problem.

What is a vendor lock-in?

Most software of renowned suppliers like Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, IBM, etc. are packages for a certain operating system giving the user only a license of use, and allowing only the supplier to make any changes to the software. This software of which the source code is mostly unavailable, is called proprietary software.

Delivering proprietary software is the one way to tie customers to IT vendors. Doing this is commonly referred to as a vendor lock-in in which the customer is being 'captivated' by expensive upgrades and maintenance contracts.

From a survey conducted in 2012¹⁾ it was concluded that avoiding a vendor lock-in was the most important reason to opt for open-source software.

Safe and of high quality

A recent investigation indicates that open-source software in general is more safe than proprietary programs, and that they contain less errors ²⁾.

Lower is safer

_{Blue = Open-source software
Red = Proprietary software}

Source: TechRepublic - June 3rd, 2014

We say: pick high quality and safe open-source software and stay in charge of your IT solutions.

Tailor-made implementations

In general business software needs to be implemented company wide, when aimed at supporting business processes. This is no different for open source software.

Aside from obtaining and installing the right software, implementation comprises of configuration, integration with other business systems, organizational embedding, and changes to certain business processes. Mostly tailoring part of the software is also required to get an optimal fit.

Why pick eQTeam?

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