A newly published Sun eBook addresses the economics of open source technology looking at the pluses and potential minuses companies may encounter if they are not educated about what comprises open source software. Mission-critical areas of enterprise IT environments where open-source software is becoming more and more pervasive are discussed, as are the types of companies that deliver open-source products and services. The publication provides guidance on how to get started with open source, including a look at licensing fee structures and support costs, and relates the advantages of Sun's open-source software solutions.

Gartner research cited by the book reports that two-thirds of clients surveyed in 2008 were using open-source software in mission-critical applications. Sun-related technologies alone account for many of these types of solutions. According to the paper, there are more than two billion phones and another billion PCs running Java technology, at least 12 million MySQL database users, with another 60,000 downloads occurring every day, and more than 14 million downloads of the Solaris and OpenSolaris operating systems.

With the trend toward open source, enterprises need to be aware of some potential pitfalls, such as licensing fees that can make the software expensive and commercial-level support for mission-critical applications or deployment. Keeping in mind that this book provides advice on evaluating open-source alternatives for enterprises with a focus on Sun technologies, the writers offer:

"When exploring open-source software alternatives, enterprises can work with:

• Aggregators (like Red Hat), which collect and package software created by others and then charge for support and updates
• Support companies (like SpikeSource, SourceLabs, and OpenLogic), which put together common open source software into stacks and offer enterprises integration and support services
• A company that creates, distributes, and supports (like Sun), which dedicates significant engineering staff to work with the community, aggregates community innovations, and delivers enhanced and thoroughly tested open-source software with full enterprise support"

These three areas are defined and explored in this book that is divided up into eight chapters, each of which is an individual white paper within itself covering the following specific topics:

• Open-Source in the Enterprise: Fulfilling the Promise
• Staying Ahead of Enterprise Data Growth with Open-Source Solutions
• Open Web Application Platform: Using Open-Source Software to Develop Web Applications
• Open Identity: Leveraging Open-Source for Enterprise Identity Management
• Open Storage: A Lower-Cost, Higher-Performance Alternative for the Enterprise
• Open Virtualization: More Innovation Without Vendor Lock In
• Evaluating Open-source Operating Systems: Features, Flexibility and Performance
• Open-source and Cloud Computing: On-Demand, Innovative IT on a Massive Scale

More Information

The Open Source Enterprise: Harnessing the economics of open technology

Selecting Open-Source Software to Develop Web Applications

New Coalition to Bring Open Source Communities and US Government Together

Is the Recession Paying Off for Open-source Firms?

Better Quality and Injecting Specific Requirements Add to Open Source Appeal - Sun Exec on Why Open Source Software is Better Than Proprietary [...read more...]

From the latest issue:

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