openAdmin
07-15-2009, 08:13 PM
Granted that not all techies are on the open source bandwagon, but it is becoming more and more difficult to ignore the fact that open source software is breaking new ground even in industries not traditionally considered to be OS material. Many people often raise concerns about OS security or lack of it. That’s why it is quite interesting to witness widespread OS adoption in places like banks and federal agencies where security would be the number one priority.
The UK government recently updated its open source policy and developed an action plan for encouraging a broader OS adoption by government agencies.The new policy suggests that open-source software-based solutions should have an edge in procurements wherever appropriate especially if there is an inherent cost difference that is advantageous. There was an informative article in Wall Street & Technology (http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/it-infrastructure/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=217400216&pgno=1)in May that presents clear indications that banks are increasingly shifting towards open source. Increased cost pressures and consolidation of existing technology were cited as the key motivating factors. While it has been a common practice for banks to run open source applications in the back office , now it is making its presence felt in the front office as well.Open source tools like Market cetera (http://www.marketcetera.com/site/products/marketcetera-platform), an automated trading platform integrating several OS technologies, Ecclipse (http://www.eclipse.org/), an integrated development environment for Java , Esper (http://esper.codehaus.org/) an event stream processing solution etc have been embraced by the financial industry. One indication that financial institutions are taking open source seriously is the initiation of several OS projects including Advanced Message Queuing (http://jira.amqp.org/confluence/display/AMQP/About+AMQP). AMQP is a collaboration that is working on specifications for messaging infrastructure. Participating firms include Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Borse Systems .
Another sector where Open source seems to be gaining prominence is the Education field. Kuali Foundation is a consortium of colleges that was formed to initiate, research and implement Open source ideas specifically adaptable for course management, budget management and reporting , billing and other administrative functions required by these institutions. Colorado State University and San Joaquin Delta College have been the first to implement large scale installations of financial systems put forth by Kuali. University of Arizona, Michigan State University , Cornell University and University of British Columbia are said to be closely following at their heels. Potential savings and more control over technology again seem to be the reasons for the conversion.
While skeptics continue to wonder if the mammoth engineering effort for adaptation, customization, maintenance and support will amount to any savings at the end of the day, the number of companies willing to find out the answer is on the increase. Do you believe that the open source movement is overtly hyped and transient?
The UK government recently updated its open source policy and developed an action plan for encouraging a broader OS adoption by government agencies.The new policy suggests that open-source software-based solutions should have an edge in procurements wherever appropriate especially if there is an inherent cost difference that is advantageous. There was an informative article in Wall Street & Technology (http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/it-infrastructure/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=217400216&pgno=1)in May that presents clear indications that banks are increasingly shifting towards open source. Increased cost pressures and consolidation of existing technology were cited as the key motivating factors. While it has been a common practice for banks to run open source applications in the back office , now it is making its presence felt in the front office as well.Open source tools like Market cetera (http://www.marketcetera.com/site/products/marketcetera-platform), an automated trading platform integrating several OS technologies, Ecclipse (http://www.eclipse.org/), an integrated development environment for Java , Esper (http://esper.codehaus.org/) an event stream processing solution etc have been embraced by the financial industry. One indication that financial institutions are taking open source seriously is the initiation of several OS projects including Advanced Message Queuing (http://jira.amqp.org/confluence/display/AMQP/About+AMQP). AMQP is a collaboration that is working on specifications for messaging infrastructure. Participating firms include Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Borse Systems .
Another sector where Open source seems to be gaining prominence is the Education field. Kuali Foundation is a consortium of colleges that was formed to initiate, research and implement Open source ideas specifically adaptable for course management, budget management and reporting , billing and other administrative functions required by these institutions. Colorado State University and San Joaquin Delta College have been the first to implement large scale installations of financial systems put forth by Kuali. University of Arizona, Michigan State University , Cornell University and University of British Columbia are said to be closely following at their heels. Potential savings and more control over technology again seem to be the reasons for the conversion.
While skeptics continue to wonder if the mammoth engineering effort for adaptation, customization, maintenance and support will amount to any savings at the end of the day, the number of companies willing to find out the answer is on the increase. Do you believe that the open source movement is overtly hyped and transient?