In recent years there was much talk about free, open source software. Not only Linux, the famous operating system that made big waves, but also office software such as OpenOffice and many, many web-based products, such as content management systems like Typo3, Joomla or WebGui. Just what costs are involved, 'cause nothing is ever free, right?
Microsoft Office: The compatibility issue
About five years ago, we tried to use OpenOffice as our primary office suite. We were able to setup various stationery pieces with this software and it worked well enough, even if I could never really get excited about it. As a non-power user, I’d say that it wasn’t better or worse than MS Office.
The real problem however, was that we lost compatibility with our clients and partners, who on their end, used MS products. Exchanging documents became a nightmare and in some cases impossible. After three years we gave up and we are using – though still not excited - Microsoft Office again.
Open Source Software: Make sure someone is there to help
Choosing Linux, PHP, MySQL and a free open source CMS as your setup, might save you 10K in initial investment over a solution with commercial products like MS Server 2003, ASP.NET, SQL Server and Kentico, but there is a big cost factor that is often underestimated: support.
When using open source products you will get your questions most likely answered through a community driven support forum. Depending on the question and the community, the speed and the quality of the answers may vary enormously. Of course, nobody gets paid for it and nobody really cares if your deadline is approaching faster than you wished.
With commercial products you usually pay a yearly support fee. This fee not only give you access to upgrades, but also ensures rapid assistance if you are stuck with a problem.
With the support team from Kentico, I've not only had an excellent experience concerning the speed and the quality of the solutions provided, but also experienced that the bugs and weaknesses I've encountered during my work, have been fixed in new releases. Consider your investment again.