Open source software is proving to be a viable alternative for companies seeking to reduce their IT spending, according to a new report by research IDC.
CRM applications, database management and virtualization software were the top three open source solutions being sought after by companies, the report said.
In Indonesia for example, 34.5 percent of respondents said that they would plan to deploy new open source CRM applications over the next 18 months.
"Verticals like distribution services, infrastructure services, and public sector, plan to deploy open source for CRM applications within the next 18 months", says Ridhi Sawhney, Market Analyst of Asia/Pacific Enterprise Applications Research at IDC.
"The public sector has started to consider open source not only because of obvious benefits from cost reductions, but also with an aim to build an ecosystem, lower the entry barrier, and promote open source adoption,“ he added.
Apart from cost savings, zero vendor lock-in, access to the source code, and customized software were some of the other benefits driving the adoption of open source software, said Sawhney,
“All these in turn increase the ease of integration with the existing infrastructure of an organization, as well as the compatibility with different platforms. This gives the organization an opportunity to use and test open source without changing their whole IT infrastructure,” added Sawhney.
However adoption is being hindered by lack of direct presence, localization, and support and services offerings, said the report.
Organizations also feel that they lack internal and external skills to support the shift towards adopting an open source strategy. They are likely to subscribe to hardware or software support services to accompany open source software, said IDC.
