OStatic

Microsoft is scrambling to counter conclusions made in a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, which suggest that India could save $2 billion if open source software solutions hit 50 percent adoption across its economy in 2010. As a story from New Delhi, running in the Business Standard reports, even if isolated categories of open source software such as server operating systems and antivirus software see broad adoption, the cost savings could be substantial.

Microsoft is firing back with its usual claims about support and other issues representing hidden costs that actually make open source more expensive than its proprietary software. There is an interesting footnote to the war of words, though: Red Hat was the sponsor of the study. Whose numbers are correct?

When we recently covered the results from North Bridge Partners' survey on the future of open source, I was struck by an answer that the majority of respondents gave to this question: What do you see as the key barrier to open source adoption in business? The most popular answer to that question was unfamiliarity with open source solutions. The question was asked in an open-ended way, so I assume that some people giving that answer are probably unfamiliar with the actual existence of open source software that could benefit them, and others are aware of the existence of the software, but don't know how to use the applications.

That last branch of the problem implies that training is more important than many providers of commercial open source offerings think it is. Today, I've been looking at the market research results from IDC's annual Worldwide IT Education and Training Vendor Analysis Study. (PDF) In it, Red Hat is named the commercial software provider that does training and education best. Here are some important reasons for that finding.?