Any IT manager worth their salt must have looked at all the free packages available to them ranging from databases and operating systems to network monitoring and management tools and thought, “Why should our firm pay for software when there are free products out there with similar functionality?”.
Well, the peace of mind that support from a big-name supplier brings is probably one of the main reasons why most enterprises are willing to keep paying. Also, purchasing a leading brand gives the IT buyer some protection in the event of the technology in question going kaput, because they cannot be accused of making a risky investment in an unproven product.
But does the issue of support really have to be such a deal-breaker? Surely the money saved by not shelling out for Microsoft operating systems and applications or Cisco switches can more than cover the cost of acquiring expert support for free alternatives.
In the case of enterprise-class Linux distributions, the issue of support is not one IT buyers need lose sleep over, as all the players in the market offer the necessary services to ensure deployments go smoothly. This support comes at a price, obviously, but it is one that can look mightily attractive when compared with the cost of a Windows deployment.
So, what about switching and routing products that compete with Cisco? There are a number of low-cost alternatives out there. For example, there’s a little-known US firm called Vyatta that is touting a combined open-source router, firewall and VPN system that it claims offers twice the performance of proprietary systems at half the cost, and can run on off-the-shelf hardware. Yep, the hardware cost is still there, and support is also likely to be an issue for the reasons mentioned above, but if Vyatta’s claims are accurate, I can see the package generating plenty of interest from network managers.
When it comes to managing the network, there is no shortage of free tools available. The Wireshark network protocol analyser is a powerful package that costs nothing, while the free Spiceworks network monitoring and inventory package is a match for most paid-for alternatives. The Snort intrusion-prevention system is another free tool that has carved a very respectable niche for itself.
These products tend to be used in small-scale deployments or for testing purposes, with most companies still preferring to go with systems from a well-known, trusted vendor for major deployments. That said, I bet suppliers of paid-for systems are looking at the burgeoning free software market with increasing anxiety.
So is it time your company added to their distress?
