I have a question: do you think that this pattern will continue into the future, or do you think that FOSS, the Internet, and commoditization of hardware and software will ever tilt the balance in favor of in-house staff using free and open solutions?
I started a small manufacturing company in 2004. I used some open source software, and set it up myself with the help of Mr. Google. I can cut and paste, but I am no programmer.
Then things got busy, and I couldn't keep everything patched, and we had a hell of a time with spam, and so I hired an inhouse self-taught IT guy that was not very good. It wasn't working and after a year, he went somewhere else (we are still friends) and we went to Google Apps for the spam control and the Docs, Sheets, and Sites.
I know there are many many many free and O/S choices out there. Maybe something better for us than Google Apps. I do not have the time to evaluate hardly anything. If some person comes to me and has a solution, and can explain all the other choices available from free or O/S all the way to Oracle, that exist for me on the market, then I may buy his product or service. If the first thing they sell me works, then I will look at the next thing with eagerness.
As a business owner, I have 1000 headaches and having 2 fewer is great. Free software is not free maintenance. Your o/s software getting hacked (because you didn't know there was a patch) really sucks and can screw up your 4 day long weekend. Or worse. When your small site that brings in $1000 a day in sales and feeds your family tanks, the $25 per month you saved using open source software looks really insignificant, and you feel really stupid.
I have a question: do you think that this pattern will continue into the future, or do you think that FOSS, the Internet, and commoditization of hardware and software will ever tilt the balance in favor of in-house staff using free and open solutions?