Dravis Group OSS report released (updated)

Posted on 2003-04-23

SAN FRANCISCO, April 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dravis Group LLC has published the report "Open Source Software: Case Studies Examining its Use," which illustrates the diverse uses of open source software. After releasing "Linux, Inc.: A Survey of Open Source Software -- October 2002," The Dravis Group recognized a need to provide perspectives on the benefits and challenges associated with open source software. Discussions with numerous commercial, government and non-profit organizations provided input into the report.

The following highlights the case studies which extend from embedded applications to the data center market:

  • Afilias, Ltd. is using a PostgreSQL database environment to support the Internet's .ORG registry.

  • DevIS provides IT services to U.S government agencies based on open source technologies.

  • City of Largo, FL, has the majority of its city employees using Linux and other open source services.

  • Marienhospital in Stuttgart, Germany, migrated to Linux based servers supporting Oracle databases.

  • Simputer is prototyping solutions targeting village banking, education and land use applications in developing nations.

  • TiVo, Inc. uses Linux in its 640,000 personal television recorder and back-end servers.

  • US Postal Services implemented Linux-based systems in 250 mail distribution centers in its mail routing processes.

  • Verisign, Inc. has 1,100 Linux servers in production, and their deployment, along with the use of other open source solutions, continue to expand.

  • Westone Laboratories is addressing application migration needs by implementing MySQL and Linux-based solutions.

Key Research Findings

  • Cost is a significant factor driving adoption of open source software.

  • Control and flexibility are considered benefits as well.

  • Implementation of open solutions is evolutionary, not revolutionary.

  • Open source extends across the entire software stack.

  • Product support is not a significant concern.

  • Open source is not a magic solution.

  • Open standards may be more important than open source.

You can download a copy of this report here

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