That's ironic, because the business benefits are compelling. Established open-source products tend to be reliable because the code is subjected to a rigorous peer review. And the programming community that supports it often implements new features much more rapidly than do developers of commercial products. Finally, open source frees managers from the considerable expense and complexity of replicating and maintaining software licensing agreements. The decisions that IT practitioners make are likely to have a long-term impact.
Companies are willing to spend.
And vendors are certainly more than willing to take their money. Take Web application servers, which provide a development environment for creating Web applications. Many companies are turning to products like IBM's WebSphere, BEA Systems Inc.'s Weblogic Server or Sun Microsystems Inc.'s iPlanet Application Server. These systems often sit atop of high-priced, proprietary operating systems and server hardware. Calif. With Enhydra, Web architects have a third leg on the open-source stool, a third building block upon which to build Web applications.