Open source means the software is free and its source code is accessible-typically not the case with proprietary products. And, despite the lack of licensing fees, open source is not free-customization, maintenance, training and cost of risk must be evaluated. With IT funding drying up, Marks says open source for HR and other vertical applications will find adopters the way Linux did.īut there are caveats: There’s no critical mass of open-source HR applications or distributors yet for the model to work in HR, a much larger developer community is needed. "It is inevitable for open source to take off now," predicts Oliver Marks, founder of Oliver Marks & Associates in San Francisco, a Web 2.0 consulting firm. Some observers say the current recession will similarly drive adoption of a first generation of open-source applications in customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning and HR. During the downturn of 2001-02, many IT staffs opted for open-source Linux over costly proprietary operating systems for their data centers. Open-source software has no license fees, and with information technology budgets disappearing faster than Arctic ice, the option should not be overlooked.
The organization takes no position on any technology. The enticing cost benefits from open source are drawing the attention of HRIS professionals such as Berger, a member of the board of directors of the International Association for Human Resources Information Management. "It is too early to judge open source, but it is not something to close the door on," says Berger, HR information systems (HRIS) director at Citrix Systems Inc., a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based developer of software for application delivery infrastructure. Rich Berger isn’t sure open-source HR software is ready for widespread use, but he’s keeping an eye on it.
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