Getting there: Migrating to open source

Those who have made the move share advice on how to prepare and what traps to avoid.

Despite the enthusiasm of many open source backers, successful rollouts of the technology aren't automatic.

While a recent Forrester Research report found that roughly 40% of the 100 U.S. companies surveyed had no disappointments, that still leaves 6 out of 10 perhaps wishing they had done things differently.

How can you better your chances of success? Read on to learn what open source users and industry watchers advise.

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Despite the enthusiasm of many open source backers, successful rollouts of the technology aren't automatic.

While a recent Forrester Research report found that roughly 40% of the 100 U.S. companies surveyed had no disappointments, that still leaves 6 out of 10 perhaps wishing they had done things differently.

How can you better your chances of success? Read on to learn what open source users and industry watchers advise.

1. Getting started

While open source software can be quickly downloaded and put to use, industry watchers say rollouts should be approached in much the same way as they would with commercial applications. That means assembling a proof-of-concept plan and determining long-term integration, support and labor costs.

"It's a cultural difference. IT people wanting to bring open source in-house don't always approach it as they would other technologies," says Mark Douglas, vice president of engineering and operations at online dating company eHarmony in Pasadena, Calif. "They need to put together a pilot and show the reasons why open source is better than commercial products."

Linux and Apache might have flourished in one-off rollouts, but users say a full-blown migration to open source needs to be driven by more than experimental curiosity.

"Teams will know they are ready when commercial software just never meets all of their needs. Those gaps end up being a critical factor in the decision to go open source," says Andres Andreu, technical director of Web engineering and applications for advertising giant Ogilvy & Mather in New York.

2. Support scheme

One Catch-22 with open source centers around support. Sure, there are numerous sources for help with many of the 70,000 open source components available for download on the Internet, but how good are they?

"There may appear to be support, but it really needs to be investigated beyond surface appearances," says Michael Goulde, a senior analyst at Forrester. "You have to determine if you are choosing a viable product with long-term development plans and identify the development community upfront."

EHarmony's Douglas says with every type of open source software, there is most likely a vendor committed to providing support. IT managers can contact vendors such as Red Hat and Covalent, for example, to get support contracts that rival those for commercial software.

"It hasn't been any different than when I wanted to get [BEA] WebLogic support; I contact the salespeople and they get me support," Douglas says.

3. Learn the licensing

Open source doesn't always mean free.

"Deciphering the different license models for open source, and even commercial, software can become a bit of a train wreck," says Sam Lamonica, IT director at general contracting and engineering company Rudolph & Sletten in Foster City, Calif. "You have to figure out which licensing scheme is going to work for your company and how you are using the open source code."