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4/1/2007
Smaller vendors are also working to fan the open source flames. In February, Centric CRM and a dozen other open source companies formed the Open Solutions Alliance. The group aims to promote interoperability and enhanced support for open source applications. Major integrators including Unisys have lined up to support the alliance, though it’s unclear how soon their work will result in new integration hooks that universities can leverage.
As the open source sector continues to grow, the ERP market continues to consolidate through numerous mergers and acquisitions, leaving Oracle, SAP AG, and other companies such as SunGard as the primary choices for such commercial ERP systems. To be sure, the remaining commercial options continue to offer clear benefits. Generally speaking, they are highly scalable, incredibly reliable, and secure. Plus, they are backed by thousands of integrators and valueadded resellers (VARs) that can service and support the deployments.
By contrast, open source solutions typically have only scattered support in the VAR and integrator community. Even market leaders such as Red Hat have only a few hundred Linux VARs across the globe—compared to tens of thousands of partners supporting Microsoft’s Windows Server, SQL Server, and related applications. And while server hardware suppliers such as IBM, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Sun Microsystems support Linux, that doesn’t mean they’ll be familiar with niche open source projects and modules that pop up across the globe.
| Category | Commerical Options | Open Source Options |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Systems | ||
| Databases |
IBM, Microsoft, Oracle |
|
| E-mail / Collaboration |
IBM/Lotus, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle |
|
| Applications | ||
| IP Communications / VoIP |
Today, it's clear to almost every campus executive that moving an institution from the traditional purchasing model to a strategic eProcurement program can greatly increase staff efficiency and save the institution money. Because eProcurement automates so many purchasing processes, it eliminates reams of paperwork and allows procurement staff to refocus their efforts on cutting costs and improving strategic partnerships.
Mary Jo Gorney-Moreno didn't start out in IT. She joined San Jose State University (CA) in 1981 as an assistant professor in the school of nursing. But somewhere along the way, she realized her energy was focused on academic technology, and how it could help a variety of learners gain knowledge.