Open source applications are generally free because the code is freely available. This means that there are no license fees. However, it must be noted that high costs for implementation and any individual adjustments can arise, especially at the beginning. The more individual a solution is to be, the more expensive it becomes. Unfortunately, this also applies in the long term, as specific further developments will probably have to be carried out or commissioned by the company itself and will not be done by the open source community . If, on the other hand, an administration can get by with the free standard solution for the most part and only a few adjustments are necessary, open source software is significantly cheaper in the long term , as essentially only the operation costs are incurred.
Public funding
Open source solutions are not only free, but are sometimes even luxembourg number dataset subsidized . For example, the EU supports several OSS projects. These are not only about creating and developing code, but also about fixing errors. Therefore, there are also projects that pay bonuses for security-related errors that are found and fixed. This is the case with Drupal, for example.
As with everything, there are of course reasons that can speak against the use of open source, such as a lack of acceptance or administrations that are simply very small and for whom it is much more economical to use a commercial license. Ultimately, it is always a balancing act between interests and resources.
marketability and quality
Especially with relatively new open source applications, it is possible that they still contain a few bugs and are less stable . However, it must be said at this point that this has also happened with commercial software applications. With open source software, it can occasionally happen that there are two versions of an application: an older, stable version and a new version that is not yet running smoothly. The potential user can then choose whether robust operation or current features are more important to them.
Of course, no guarantee can be expected with a free software solution , as the usage licenses usually exclude this. The developers are therefore not liable for the quality of their products. To compensate for this, maintenance contracts with professional support are now also offered for open source solutions.
longevity
The future prospects can also speak against free IT solutions. With operating systems such as Linux, no one needs to worry, but with smaller open source projects, it is quite possible that they will no longer be pursued at some point. It therefore makes sense for authorities to look at how established the respective provider is on the market and, if necessary, to rely on several providers.
tenders
One problem is that authorities sometimes get in their own way, as tenders explicitly require proprietary solutions or certain programs . Of course, there are also tenders in which OSS is a criterion. As is usual in the federal German system, the requirements vary greatly depending on the authority and federal state.
Another point is that the software cannot apply for tenders itself. And since open source software usually has no sales structures in the background, it is possible that a suitable open source solution is simply overlooked in a tender.
Available resources
Another important factor in the use of open source software in public authorities is staffing levels. Are the company's own capacities sufficient to implement the relevant software solution and, if necessary, adapt it to the needs of the relevant authority? Are external service providers required to take on this task, or are there specialists available for the desired application ? In principle, IT specialists are currently in short supply.
When an authority wants to build up its own capacities, it has been shown that open source projects are very popular, especially among younger software developers. The use of an OSS can therefore be an incentive for one or two IT experts to work for an authority. Alternatively, foreign IT specialists are often used for software development.
The size of an authority can also play a role in the decision as to whether OSS is used. For small authorities or administrations, it is not always worthwhile to rely on an in-house solution, as the development costs are simply too high. It is easier to implement open source applications that are already in use by other administrations, or, if necessary, to stick with commercial software, as anything else would not be economical.