IT Leaders Now Expected To Be Open To Open Source (enterprisersproject.com)

StewBeans writes: Typically it's developers — not senior IT executives — who have been pushing their IT departments to adopt open source software, but the tide is beginning to turn. The Weather Company's CIO, Bryson Koehler, says if IT decision makers are not bringing up open source solutions to business problems, they will start to lose credibility as leaders. He references recent moves from major players like Apple, Google and IBM as evidence of open source going mainstream. As it continues to increase in importance, "companies that are still shying away from open are clearly being led by people who are probably not fully informed about the decisions they're making." Koehler hypothesizes that as these leaders are replaced by more informed decision makers, "expect to see a continued rise in the use of open source technology solutions, especially in modularized ways so that it's easier to replace one set of libraries or components in your stack with a new set as open source projects ebb and flow throughout their life cycles."

Comments

Bring More Solutions than just One

[bigdady92]

Which is all these Management types want is Solution(S) to problems they have and not "Well just buy off the shelf product X, it'll do" when there are alternatives available.

Open Source solutions are not always the best solution but they are A solution to the problems. Remember you need someone that can tinker around with the software unless you are buying support from a vendor.

    Nothing worse than some PHB saying "It's free! No payments! Saves us tons of money!" and completely forgets that the only person that knew how to use the software at all was some intern that left a month after the project was done for a better paying gig somewhere else.

Re:Bring More Solutions than just One

[JaredOfEuropa]

Don't be too scared of that intern leaving either. Just find someone else to support and maintain it. Do plan a little bit ahead, have some redundancy, and before you deploy such a solution to production, make sure the IT hygiene stuff is in place like backups that work, infosec, and some documentation. I've worked with a fair few systems that way, and it absolutely is possible to run them on a shoestring budget, even in a large corporation. One objection I keep hearing is: "How can we rely on a system with no support process and no SLA?" Answer: SLAs are cover-your-ass metrics for PHBs but they have very little to do with actual service. If you get the right tinkerers and interns, in my experience support from these guys is invariably better and faster than from the typical big outsourcing ITIL partners with CMM level 5000. Think about how much you really need that system and match that with appropriate safeguards and redundancy. And if a key guy does leave after a year, you'll have to scramble a bit to keep things going. That's when you'll often hear "How the hell can you manage a system like this, look at the mess we are in". Instead, think of the many, many thousands of dollars saved by keeping your support lean and using inexpensive, fit for purpose open source software.

Of course this requires involvement and support from managers who actually understand a thing or two about how IT works.

Re:Bring More Solutions than just One

[Zero__Kelvin]

"Open Source solutions are not always the best solution but they are A solution to the problems. Remember you need someone that can tinker around with the software unless you are buying support from a vendor."

I'm not sure if you are being disingenuous or you really believe that, but "tinkering around with the software" is an extra option you have with Open Source. It typically isn't a requirement at all. Perhaps you could give an example of Open Source software you think needs a special class of user called "tinkerer"? Can you name a FOSS tool that requires you to know software development to use? (Excluding, of course, tools specifically for software devs, like gcc, gdb, etc.)

Re:Bring More Solutions than just One

[paavo512]

Perhaps you could give an example of Open Source software you think needs a special class of user called "tinkerer"?

Try compiling three year old scientific software written in academia without either a programmer or a sysadmin (either should fulfill the role of "tinkering" with software).

I know the sentiment. The only thing worse than open-source software from academia is closed-source software from academia. We ended up putting it in a separate background process so when it crashes we can try to run it again a couple of times.

Making some program open-source does not magically increase its quality, and being in academia does not magically turn professional scholars into professional programmers. Nothing new here.

1) This is because IBM owns them now 2)

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

1) The CIO is saying this because they just got bought by IBM, who pushes "open source" until you look around and your whole operations is being run by H1Bs fresh off the plane who say "open source" to distract you while they Google for how to open a command prompt. http://fortune.com/2015/10/30/...

2) I agree. That's why I use a free, open API for weather instead: http://openweathermap.org/pric...

THEN STOP HIRING COLLEGE GRADS!

[pecosdave]

I've been in I.T. since about 1997.

I've been pushing for Open Source acceptance almost just as long.

What has stood in my way? College grads. Turns out schools in the 90's and 00's were fed Microsoft money and free software to teach the likes of Microsoft servers and Front Page. When I mentioned the word "Linux" at a large oil company around a decade ago I was branded a heretic and nothing I said on any subject was taken seriously by project managers or developers who were on the M.S. Gravy Train during that era from that point forward - even when the subject was along the lines of electrical engineering and had nothing to do with software. Turns out I was right on that one too.

Just like web developers from that era who didn't go to college wrote the best web pages because they shunned Front Page server/network guys who didn't go to college had a leg up from not being taught bad habits. Pair that up with the modern PC (not the computer type) culture being taught at school you're pretty much guaranteed a brainwashed in multiple ways spineless slug if you hire a college grad, whereas a self starter got a real education in the school of hard knocks.

Those people like software without agendas.