Organizations today are overwhelmed with choice when it comes to learning technology. From learning platforms to authoring tools and even instant messaging programs, there has never been a greater opportunity to find technology solutions that best suit the organization. But with so much choice, many businesses get it wrong—and getting it wrong can spell the difference between a successful learning program and one that makes no impact whatsoever on performance.
In recent years, organizations such as Terminix, PepsiCo, the US Department of Agriculture, Indeed, and JetBlue have made the switch from restrictive, expensive, proprietary learning management systems to more flexible open source learning platforms that can be tailored to their exact needs. With 68% of CTOs increasing their use of enterprise open source in the last 12 months, why exactly has there been such a monumental shift in attitudes towards open source technology, and what does this say about the wider business environment today?
1. Lower total cost of ownership
In Red Hat’s report, ‘The State of Enterprise Open Source’, one-third of all respondents said that a lower total cost of ownership was a key benefit of choosing open source software over proprietary alternatives. It’s perfectly possible for an organization moving from a proprietary LMS to an open source learning platform to save up to 80% on the total cost of ownership, making them much more cost-effective options.
2. Access to the latest innovations
The speed of innovation makes open source solutions an appealing choice for organizations wishing to remain at the cutting edge. With a proprietary LMS, it can take months (or even years) waiting for the vendor to add the features and functionality you want to their roadmap, while open source software empowers customers to take control of their own wishlist. As well as the ability to code your own additions to your platform, most open source technologies come with thriving online communities, making it easy to go in and select any plugins or customizations that have already been created instead of duplicating your efforts.
3. Better security
Contrary to the myth that an open source learning platform is less secure than proprietary alternatives, it’s actually hugely beneficial to have more eyes on the code. If there are any security issues, there will be hundreds or even thousands of people worldwide looking at the source code, making it much more likely that they will be caught much sooner. For too long, people have believed that open source leaves software open to tampering, but on the contrary, it means that there is a whole community of ‘security guards’ worldwide, meaning any flaws in the code are much more likely to be spotted before anything disastrous happens.
4. Higher-quality software
Organizations often find that open source software is much higher quality than the proprietary systems they were previously using—in fact, 26% of CTOs gave this as a key reason for choosing open source. This is for a number or reasons. Firstly, the source code is being worked on continually by a large group of global developers and experts, meaning that it isn’t just a small, overstretched team trying to do everything. It is also flexible enough to be tailored to the organization’s specific requirements, whether these are functional or technical. Finally, the speed at which the software can be developed and updated is hugely beneficial, as it means that organizations are not constrained by the software vendor.
5. Access to enterprise-level support
While some open source software is available for development without assistance, there are also plenty of learning vendors offering top-quality, enterprise-level support to help organizations make the most of their learning platforms. Opting for open source doesn’t mean you have to compromise on the level of support you receive, and 25% of CTOs say that this is a key reason for their decision. This can include everything from ad hoc troubleshooting via email to round-the-clock telephone support, and the open source community will always be there to answer any questions and share their own solutions with you.
6. Ability to customize applications
One-quarter of CTOs said that the ability to customize applications is a key advantage of open source learning software. This includes everything from complex customizations to tweaking functionality, fully branding the platform and integrations with other systems. With proprietary learning platforms, the ability to customize is broadly limited to what the vendor allows you to customize, whereas with open source software, the power is in your hands to shape your learning platform to meet your exact requirements.
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