Being Open–Minded – The Advantages of Using Open Source Software and Dispelling Some Myths About Its Downsides

Open Source is a widely used buzzword and there are many myths and misconceptions surrounding what it is and is not and under what circumstances it should be used. In this article, I aim to clarify the concept of open source and to dispel some of the lack of understanding surrounding it.

Firstly, it is important to make one distinction about what open source is not – open source software is not freeware. While open source products are free, there exist many proprietary products which are marketed on zero-outlay business models, such as loss leader, advertising-based, limited feature, thirty day trial etc. Software released under these and similar models is collectively known as freeware and it is not open source. Ultimately, the companies releasing these products will seek to profit from them in some fashion and, more importantly, you as a user do not have access to the code behind them. This is the difference that distinguishes open source from other software licensing models and it is a vital one for your business, as we shall see later.

There are many positive reasons why open source software is a good model on which to base the IT strategy of your business. Among these are:

Breaking the supply chain – When you start buying products and services from a private company, they will commonly try to encourage you to use them as a sole supplier. There are numerous methods by which they do this; certification, special offers, bulk purchasing, support agreements, partnership models, etc. The end results is that, even if prices rise or quality decreases, it can often be very difficult to switch from a now inferior supplier as it might mean changing the whole basis of your IT structure.

Reduce Costs - With open source software, there is no profit motive involved. This means there is no incentive to hook you into an aggressive and competitive sales model that is ultimately created to benefit a third party. By removing the marketing element from the supply chain, you cut out the cost of the middle-man, receiving a high quality product, without the cost of proprietary software and services. This is of particular value to organisations with typically low budgets, such as public sector departments, charities and social enterprises.

Transparency - Not only is there a financial incentive for freeing yourself a from single vendor but you are no longer reliant on their word for the quality of the products you use. Open source software is based on an open and independent development model, meaning that any qualified person is free to look at the processes and content used to create the software and assess its quality and suitability for purpose for themselves.

Customisable – An off-the-peg IT solution may very well not be suitable for your organisational needs. If this is the case, the open source model allows your in-house or third-party IT developers to alter the software so that it meets your requirements. The structure of the software and its licensing is designed to make re-designing the products both practical and legal. Not only is there existing official documentation to help you do this but there is also a wealth of freely available information from people who are likely to have already performed similar tasks as well as from the developers of the software itself.

Faster turnaround and greater market flexibility - The infrastructure and documentation for open source software is easily available from the internet. There is no need to source it from suppliers. You can install only what you need and freely expand later in order to match any change in requirements. You are not tied to any sales packages which exist solely to benefit third parties. You can even trial exactly what you require, on test hardware, with no financial commitment or negotiation. Again, the documentation to do all of this is freely available.

Some misconceptions about open source technology dispelled

·         I can't use open source with my existing technology
Many businesses on a Windows platform believe that they can only use open source software if they install Linux. This is untrue. Open source development platforms such as PHP and MySQL have had stable versions on contemporary versions of Windows for over fifteen years, almost as long as they have existed.

·         You can't trust open source development as there is no certification available
This is not the case. Redhat, for example, provide a range of open source certification, for most levels of IT professionals. O'Reilly, the well-known publishers of IT manuals, also provide certification for open source professionals, among other organisations.

·         No blue-chip companies use open source software
While some large organisations are understandably discreet about what technology their systems are based on, there are many companies that base their IT strategy on open source software. These include Amazon, Netflix, Facebook, Google and Android, among others.

·         Open source software is of a lower quality than its paid-for equivalent
Apart from the fact that it would be a false economy for the above large organisations to use low quality software, proprietary software is often sold on the perception of quality, rather than the reality. Because there is no profit motive in the distribution of open source software and their code is open to inspection by their peers and user base, developers usually work to a quality standard, rather than a production timeline.

·         Only proprietary software can meet my security needs
This is essentially a sub-phenomenon of the above. Producing robust and well-secured products is one of the most challenging aspects of creating high quality software and open source developers are often highly challenge-motivated. Even if, in some cases, their ambitions might exceed their ability, the quality of their work is peer reviewed by hundreds, if not thousands, of fellow programmers and potential users. This is opposed to proprietary software, where code is tested by a team that is limited by secrecy, budget and time constraints.

·         There is no incentive for third-party companies to support open source
Again, this is not the case. While there is no profit motive in supplying open source software, as it is freely available, there is certainly value to be added in the development, installation and support of products built on open source technologies. This means that, while third-party companies cannot tie a customer to a particular set of products, they can nevertheless build a valid and profit-motivated business model around these services. Organisations implementing an open source based IT strategy need not worry that their setup will be 'orphaned' as their very need for support guarantees that there is a continuing profit motive for catering to them.

Links to research material

Reasons to use open source software in your organisation:

·         10 Reasons Open Source Is Good for Business

·         10 Reasons to Use Open Source in Business

·         Using Open Source in Business

·         Why big companies are embracing open source

·         Big Companies Open Up to Open Source Software

·         Benefits of Using Open Source Software

Open source training and certification

·         Curriculum and Training - Drupal Groups

·         Joomla, Drupal and WordPress Training

·         Open Source Software Training Classes and Workshops

·         Webmaster Certificate Program Open Source Developer

Download the The Advantages of Using Open Source Software article as a printable PDF file.

How to Generate and Refine Search Engine Keywords Using the Google Adwords Keyword Tool

So you've got a website or a blog. It's well designed and it's got good content. Job done, right? Now you can just sit back and let customers come to you. Sadly, this is not the case. Now comes the difficult part: Customers can't read your excellent content or admire your superb design unless they can first find your site. This is where Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) comes in. In broad terms, search engine optimisation is how to get your site well placed in Google, and other online search engines, so that it can be found easily by potential customers looking for your products and services.

Search engine optimisation is divided into two main types, off-site and on-site. Both are mid- to long-term strategies and are an art rather than a science. This article focusses on one type of on-site optimisation; keyword refinement.

What are keywords?

Primarily, keywords are the words and phrases that your site is most likely to be found on. Their first purpose is to be embedded in the header of your website, which is visible to search engines rather than customers. However, modern search engines not only search headers and visible text but also compare them, looking for correlations. Sites where the content matches the search terms in a natural way tend to rank higher on search engines.

Note that keywords are not always the terms that you might want your site to be found on. For example if you selling sports jackets, simply using the term 'sports jackets' is probably a bad idea, as Nike and Adidas are likely to be way ahead of you.

What makes a good search term?

The trick here is specialisation. Rather than have clients search on generic terms, which many people are looking for but many other businesses are targeting, use specific language which refers to your business in particular. Fewer people may be looking for it but it is much more likely that they will find you rather than one of your competitors.

Have a key phrase or phrases that you are specifically targeting. The Adwords instructions below will help you come up with a coherent phrase that your customers may well be searching for, that addresses their particular needs. A good phrase might be one of your core services, combined with a one or two word summary of your USP or location. Mine is 'convert access databases edinburgh', for example. You should have at least one key phrase that you are specifically targeting but unless you have a large product or service base and possibly multiple sites, you shouldn't aim for more than about two or three phrases, in general.

Incorporate a unique selling point into your search terms. A USP helps to differentiate you from other similar businesses. This is more important than ever on the internet, where clients have access to potentially thousands of competitors. Remember that this competition is distributed globally and this may not be useful to all customers. Therefore, for more local businesses, your geographical position can be a useful way of distinguishing yourself.

Consider addressing a need rather than providing a solution. This addresses the 'benefits vs. features' approach to marketing. You know that you sell excellent quality sports jackets. The customer knows that they are cold or that they need a fashion item for the new season. Make sure that your keywords and content match your customers' requirements.

Be brief. The average user types in four or less words into a search engine for each query. Any phrases you use that are longer than that are probably wasted.

How to use Google Adwords to refine your Search Terms

• Create a Gmail account, if you don't already have one. Google requires you to have a profile with them in order to use their internet tools.
• Go to http://adwords.google.com
• On the top menu bar, click on Tools and Analysis / Keyword Tool.
• In the 'Word or phrase' box, type in the terms that you want your site to be found on. Bear in mind that some phrases will have heavy competition and not all phrases will be as sought after as you might think. The best option is to aim for the 'low hanging fruit', ie. the terms with low competition but high search frequencies.
  Ten or fifteen search terms is a reasonable amount. Remember that each separate word or phrase should be on a new line.
• Click on 'Search'. Click on the 'Keyword ideas' above the 'Search terms' box. Scroll down to the 'Keyword ideas' results box below.
• Click on the ' Global Monthly Searches' heading to sort by the most frequently sought after terms. Do this for both the 'Search terms' and 'Keyword ideas' results. Disregard any results that have less than a million searches.
• Look down the 'Competition' column. Competition is divided into three categories, 'High', 'Medium' and 'Low'. Ideally, you want all of your keywords to have 'Low' competition but this may not always be practical.
• Using the checkboxes on the left, select the relevant keywords, with the most searches and the lowest competition, from both the 'Search terms' and 'Keyword ideas' results. Click on the 'View as text' / 'My keyword ideas' option, above the 'Search terms' result set. This will bring up a list of your refined keywords. You can now stop here or use these terms to repeat the process and refine them further.

How to use Keywords

As mentioned above, the first thing to do with your refined keyword list is to make sure that it is embedded in the header of your web page or blog. It should be in the following format:

<meta name="keywords" content="[Comma separated list of keywords and phrases]">

Each page of your site should contain this element and there should be only one list per page. It is also good SEO practice to use these words and phrases in the title and content of your pages, in an organic fashion, especially in the headings and links. It is also a good idea to vary your keywords between pages, in order to relate better to each page's content, while keeping an overall theme.


Download the How To Generate Search Engine Keywords using Google Adwords article as a printable PDF file.