Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
Open Source Technology Update
Breaking Away
4/1/2007
“Just about any database or CRM integrator worth his salt will be familiar with Oracle and Siebel solutions,” notes Golod. “But the open source sector is hit-and-miss when it comes to finding partners that can help you.” (In the higher ed space, rSmart is the leading vendor stepping forward to provide services to colleges and universities that want the assistance of a commercial vendor for community source implementations; for example, the company offers boxed versions of Sakai and Kuali as well as consulting help.)
What’s more, many open source systems don’t have all the features and functions that universities take for granted in their current commercial systems. And it can take many years to fill in those holes. Even the most vocal open source proponents sometimes struggle to get code upgrades out the door. Novell, provider of SUSE Linux, is still striving to enhance the operating system with high-end clustering functions that many Unix providers have offered for more than a decade.
Universities also can suffer if an open source project stalls or is aborted. “If you hitch your wagon to the wrong open source project and it loses steam, you could wind up with a dead-end technology,” says Golod. “At least in the commercial software market, you can watch a publicly held software company’s financial performance, in order to to estimate a product’s long-term viability.”
Still, commercial ERP and academic systems also have their downsides. Deployments can cost millions of dollars and frequently require years to complete. Universities that write homegrown systems face their own challenges, including the need to employ and train teams of programmers to perpetually maintain and enhance the code.
For the most part, universities will continue to rely on a mix of commercial and open source solutions. Kuali and Sakai, in particular, prove that there’s plenty of room on campus for open source.
::WEBEXTRA :: The next wave of Kuali: a student information system. Find out more at Campus Technology 2007 in Washington, DC, July 30-Aug. 2 :: Learn more about open source BI.
Joseph C. Panettieri is VP of editorial content at Microcast Communications. He blogs
daily at www.techiqmag.com.
Cite this Site
copy text (above) for proper citation
Recommended Reading
- CT Industry
- eProcurement Success!
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.
- How to Be a Super Tech Leader
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.
- James Morris
- Products :: Data Security
- Products :: Physical Security
