Rockford Solutions, Inc. : Web Design in Grand Rapids, MI

To recap the benefits of open source software, the first and probably best known benefit is the price tag. Open source software is free to download and often available on disc for a small fee. Without a corporate or per-installation licensing fee, this can significantly reduce your up-front cost of operation. Take OpenOffice.org's office suite as an example. With the exception of an email client, this suite offers productivity applications comparable to Microsoft Office 2007 Professional, a product that retails for $499.95. Multiply that by the number of computers in your office, and you have an immediate cost reduction. The trade-off? While you can still open, edit, and save files in regular Microsoft Office formats (ie. *.doc and *.docx), you won't have the tight integration with less commonly used MS Office apps such as OneNote, Groove or Infopath.

The next benefit open source? Community development and support. What do you get when developers all over the world are free to offer their additions to a software package? Options, by the thousands in some cases. Case in point: the Joomla! content management system. Joomla! is an open source platform with an extensible api for third-party developers. Currently, the Joomla! Extension Directory houses nearly 4,000 extensions that cover all kinds of web-based applications from ecommerce to social networks and more. At Rockford Solutions we use this platform and its extensions for rapid web development. Having our basic infrastructure already covered, we can down to brass tacks begin tailoring a website to our clients' needs right away.

So what do we do when there just isn't a package out there that covers our specific needs? It does happen from time to time. Well for us, we roll up our sleeves and we create one. Of course, with an open platform already at our disposal, we have a good jump start on any project. Starting with our CMS's base infrastructure, we get right to the nitty-gritty and build out our new application. That not only allows us to reduce our time to market, but also provides a user community for sharing knowledge, experience, and support.

So the question still lingers, "Does it really work as well as commercial software?" Well, there isn't really a blanket yes or no answer for this question. The best answer is to be a discriminating consumer. Software packages are only as good as the developers who create them. So, take a look at the developer and their community if you want a good measure of an open source product. See how many other people are using it and how they like it. If the developer has a satisfied user base and actively supports their product, you've probably got a winner. If not, keep shopping around. It's a big world out there.

Now, see for yourself. I dare you.