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How To Approve the Use of Open Source On the Job

Posted by Unknown on from the who-can-we-sue dept.

New submitter Czech37 (918252) writes "If you work in an organization that isn't focused on development, where computer systems are used to support other core business functions, getting management buy-in for the use of open source can be tricky. Here's how an academic librarian negotiated with his management to get them to give open source software a try, and the four phrases he recommends you avoid using." "Open Source," "Free [Software]," "Contribute," and "Development" appear to scare managers away.

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  1. Nobody ever got fired for buying $big_corp by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Old saying. Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM. Nobody ever got fired for buying Microsoft. Nobody ever got fired for buying SAP. It's a simple cover-your-ass game.

    Managers, unless they have a very special bond with the company (like, say, they built it from the ground up) don't give a shit about the company. They care about their ass. And when the question is whether to blow a million of company money for software they don't know jack about but has a big name behind it, or to save the company a million bucks using software they don't know jack about but has no name to it, they blow them money.

    Because they needn't explain why they did it. It's IBM/MS/SAP, how should he have imagined that it's no good?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.