British Academic Advises CIOs to Choose Open Source

A prominent information technology academic in Britain, Jim Norton, has commissioned a new study on open source, and based on the results, he is urging CIOs everywhere to choose open source over proprietary alternatives. Norton has delivered a blog post summarizing some of his findings. Here's what he found.

Norton's blog post links to a downloadable summary of the study, which was sponsored by tech firm Amadeus. According to Norton's post:

"The case for embracing open source software is compelling, both from a business and a technology perspective. Even in demanding high-volume transaction processing environments, open systems have proven not just fit for purpose, but critical to helping industries as diverse as financial services, banking and transport to adapt and transform how they operate."

"Likewise, there are advantages to the IT provider that also have a trickle down benefit for customers. These include lower total cost of ownership, the ability to attract highly skilled and talented staff, quicker access to new technology developments and access to a global community for quick problem resolution."

On the topc of attracting IT talent, Norton notes that many young technology workers greatly prefer to work with open source applications and platforms. In addition to a downloadable paper on the study's findings, Amadeus has made available an animated presentation, which you can view here.