Open Source Software for small and medium-sized enterprises?
Lothar Becker answers questions on
Open Source Software.
The question of whether Open Source Software represents an alternative for small and medium-sized enterprises was investigated in an event organised by the Karlsruhe Chamber of Commerce (IHK) and the high-tech entrepreneur network Cyperforum e.V. at the beginning of May.
In the course of lectures and user presentations, the half-day event illuminated the complex question of how to assess the potential of Open Source solutions for own businesses. The uncomfortable result was that there are no generally applicable answers, and rather that this must always be considered case by case. While this did not surprise the approximately 20 participants predominantly from medium-sized companies, it demonstrated the great need for information on this subject and that the opportunities and possibilities are underestimated in many cases.
Lothar Becker, Managing Director of .riess applications gmbh, aroused considerable interest with his talk about LibreOffice & OpenOffice, the alternative to Office. There was a great need for clarification due to the fact that Office applications are not merely simple bread and butter applications in several companies but may turn out to be extremely complex because they use databases, macros, different document formats and document templates.
Some participants at the event were clearly surprised at the possibilities offered by Open Source Software and several are going to take further steps to look more closely at deployment possibilities for their company.
