So just what is it about Linux and Open Source that company owners and executives don’t like? Heavy hitters like IBM, Sun, Oracle, Dell and HP don’t seem to be making huge strides toward the adoption of Linux. OpenOffice.org, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and a myriad of other applications have not pushed Open Source programs or Linux, in large numbers, to the world’s Desktops or Servers. I don’t get it.
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motters
16 years 27 weeks 3 days 18 hours ago
I think what you'll find is new
I think what you'll find is new startups making good use of free software, but older companies may be reluctant to move (even despite compelling business reasons) because of a large amount of accumulated software legacy. Many larger companies are running complicated bespoke Windows apps which would be hard to transfer to GNU/Linux.
aboutblank
16 years 27 weeks 3 days 10 hours ago
Custom designed software is not
Custom designed software is not cheap. Training your staff to operate new software is not cheap. Implementing a new system is not cheap. These are some of the costs that companies are worried about.
IMO, the benefits of working in free software outweighs the costs of migrating to free software.
aboutblank
16 years 27 weeks 3 days 9 hours ago
> These are the major barriers
> These are the major barriers to Linux and Open Source adoption that I have observed...
All these things can be fixed for the right amount of money. Go to a computer support business and pay them money to support you. With proprietary software, there is (usually) only one vendor that will support you. You are SOL if that one vendor is unable to support you. With free software, *any company* in the right field would have the ability to support you.