Si,
This is a great set of comments, and a good description of what makes
organizations successful when dealing directly with a project like
OFBiz.
Would you be interested in posting these comments, or some like them,
on the ofbiz site?
-David
On Sep 9, 2006, at 3:12 PM, Si Chen wrote:
Hi Walter,
You caught me at a good time for this one... Here are some
comments based on our experience using OFBiz at Gracious Style,
these are some things I could tell you:
At this point we're using opentaps/OFBiz for online sales, order
entry, inventory, warehouse, shipping and fulfillment, some
manufacturing, and basic financials around those. We will
eventually end up replacing about half a dozen homegrown and
commercial packages which were somehow "integrated" together.
The reason we originally went with the solution as a user were:
- Superior technology
- Lower cost
- Greater flexibility
Vendor lock-in was actually not something we understood at the
time, although now it seems to be a serious problem for a lot of
mid-tier commercial software users because of all the consolidation
going on.
Our feeling originally was that many of the small business packages
were lightweight and highly inflexible, so that as our business
grew and changed, they would not be able to keep up with growing
volume or with completely new business needs. For example, if we
got a package which was meant for mail order catalogs but later
wanted to do more manufacturing, retail, or services, we'd be
pretty much out of luck.
Overall, we feel we've gotten exactly what we were looking for--a
highly technologically sophisticated package with tremendous
flexibility to support unique and new business needs at a fraction
of the cost of a comparable commercial package. We've also made
significant investments, both in learning about the project and
contributing to its development, but we feel overall it has been
more than justified.
I believe that the people who are most successful with open source
software are these traits:
1. A true understanding of what open source software brings to the
table. Some people hope that open source software is either free
as in "without cost" or compare it with commercial software on a
price/feature basis, but both of these miss the point. Open source
business applications give you the freedom to build a platform on
which to build you business and control your destiny in a way that
commercial software never could.
2. A willingness to embrace and engage the community. I think the
biggest mistake I've seen is people who download the software and
then go off on their own to try to make it work and keep everything
as their own. At best they achieve their limited original
objectives but end up cutting themselves off from the continuing
innovation of the community. More often than not, though, they
simply don't even get that far, because they're not tapping into
the tremendous knowledge and insights behind the software.
Conversely, people who become part of the community, learn to get
help from other members of the community, and in turn contribute
back to help the community are ultimately the ones who are most
successful with it. Open source is successful because of
collaboration, and we can succeed together or fail on our own here.
3. An ability to understand technology and manage its risks.
People who are most successful with open source software are
comfortable with and interested in technology, want to be in
control of their own technology future, and know how to manage
possible risks should they arise. Conversely, people who can't or
don't want to understand technology and want to let a well-known
software vendor decide for them typically can't ever get
comfortable with the idea of open source software.
I've often heard people turn away saying "I don't want in the
software/technology business. I'm just a ______." The perverse
thing, however, is that we're all in the technology business these
days. Think about your corner used bookstore, your local antique
shop, and your newspaper classified advertising section. Don't
they compete against Amazon, eBay, and Craigslist? If they're not
in the technology business, will they be in business?
Have a great weekend :)
Si
On Sep 9, 2006, at 8:30 AM, Walter Vaughan wrote:
I am writing an article for the November issue of SEMA News
http://www.sema.org/main/semaorghome.aspx?id=1004
that will revolve around using open source software in small and
medium sized companies. I would appreciate any tips or success
stories before Monday evening. I didn't get the go ahead 'til
Thursday night, and it's due Tuesday....
Thanks
--
Walter
