2. The Business Side of FOSS
FOSS is not free as in cost, rather the emphasis is in
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FREEDOM
In using FOSS, as in other things in life, there is always a
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cost
But with FOSS, the cost is most likely to be less
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Thus, there is business to be made
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3. Costs of Using FOSS
acquisition cost
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implementation cost
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installation
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configuration
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customisation
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training cost
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maintenance cost
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upgrade cost
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7. Applied Models in the Philippines
software development
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outsourced development (PHP/ Java)
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Winston Demarilo sold GlueCode (Java products) to IBM for
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$100M
solutions provider
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technical support
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training
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8. Organizational Structures of Philippine FOSS
Businesses
Traditional companies
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Independent Consultants
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Partnerships
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9. Market Acceptability of FOSS in the
Philippines
many companies use unlicensed software
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threat of raids is now regular
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great improvement in terms of ease of use of FOSS
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cost savings
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10. Hindrances to FOSS Marketability
fears of migration
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perceived difficulty
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incompatibility issues
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productivity loss
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human resistance to change
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lack of technical support/ human resource
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high initial cost of migration
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11. Strategies to Counter Hindrances
Marketing Stage
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Highlight future cost savings
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Highlight open standards and compatibility
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Do not insist on FOSS as the only solution
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Do not call your potential clients as pirates! Use the term
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unlicensed software
12. Strategies to Counter Hindrances
Pre-deployment Stage
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Conduct group discussions with management and employees
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before migration
address issues raised from meetings
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provide test systems
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13. Strategies to Counter Hindrances
Deployment Stage
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deploy in stages
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minimize disruptions
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14. Strategies to Counter Hindrances
After Deployment
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conduct trainings
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convince management to lead by example
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be there for technical support
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15. Afterfive
A division under Kimbrez Corporation
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provides FOSS solutions and technical
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support
composed of a team of consultants with
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different fields of expertise
16. Afterfive Experiences
Marketing
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most of our clients are from referrals
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the market is very sensitive to price for service
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clarify scope of job/contract
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17. Afterfive Experiences
Deployments
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client wants to see you physically as you work
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insist on proper implementation (hardware, bandwidth,
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equipment storage, etc.)
18. Afterfive Experiences
Technical Support
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sell monthly support contracts
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train company technicians or in-house techies to provide first
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level support
be there when you are most needed
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19. Afterfive Experiences
Human Resource
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A FOSS developer is more valuable; his/her tools are free
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you most likely need to train
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find people from a FOSS group
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20. Other Opportunities
embedded applications/ appliances
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software as a service model
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