The Benefits and Drawbacks of Open Source Web Document Management

Within the current zeitgeist, the phrase "open source" correlates to the "current virtue." After all, what's more virtuous that "free"1? Developers love it (okay not all of them) and, in fact, they are more likely to drop down and drool at the idea of open source programming than anyone else. The question however is how do their business-oriented counterparts respond to open source solutions? It's an important question, especially in terms of web document management technology enablers, which are absolutely essential for high-stakes businesses such as medical, legal or research enterprises. Another question presents the premise of this article:



Should our business invest in open source web document management or should we purchase a commercial model?



Benefits of Open Source Web Document Management


The benefits2 of using open source software are many and include the following:

• Easy access to the open source software developer



• Easy access to software forums



• You can change the source code to fix or ameliorate problems



• Generally affords a reputation or reliability



• Provides open knowledge

Drawbacks of Open Source Web Document Management


Open source web document management--despite its benefits--presents plenty of drawbacks3 and probably isn't the right choice for a variety of industries---especially highly regulated ones. Drawbacks of open source web document management software include the following:

• "Pain-in-the-Neck" Communities - Many open source projects lend themselves to natural forums and open communication. That's obviously a positive factor but when that forum becomes replete with software geeks who aren't exactly welcoming to the "normal guy" (i.e., the guy who just wants to figure out a feature and move on with life) then things start to become a bit aggravating.



• Bugs Don't Get Fixed - Sometimes open source projects are so "cool" and so "exciting" that old bugs are just overlooked. In a commercial enterprise this isn't as likely to occur.



• Older Version - Because of the bugs that don't get fixed and open source developers who are so excited to move to the latest and greatest code, some open source users get stuck with old software versions that really are not supported---at least not in the more effective sense of "commercial support." For companies that are highly regulated and need to depend on a purchased web document management software solution for year after year without an upgrade it might not be the wisest decision to utilize open source web document management software.



• Slow speeds - It isn't always the case but open source web document management software can be quite a bit slower than it's commercial sister. This can be extremely deleterious especially for companies that need to collaborate on documentation or simply approve vast quantities of documentation that can't afford to sit for another 15 seconds, 15 minutes, 15 hours, etc.



• "Less-than-worthy" hardware support - Hardware can be half of the web document management equation. Why risk frustration with an open source solution that simply isn't going to make that connection?



• Open to Hackers - Yes. Open source solutions are open to developers (dare we call them ethical?) but open source solutions are also open to hackers. The potential resulting scenarios are frightening.

Conclusion


For highly regulated companies and for those companies interested in web document management software it remains to be seen whether open source software solutions will become the driving force of new economic models. However, for the time being it seems that commercial models are still the safest and most effective models available---at least for highly regulated enterprises.


Notes and References


1. Not all open source projects are noncommercial of course.


2-3. The benefits and drawbacks of open source software in this article have been paraphrased from the following online article: Open Source Pros and Cons. http://www.neilgunton.com/doc/open_source_pros_cons. Extracted on February 27, 2009.

---

Marci Crane is a marketing communication specialist for MasterControl in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information in regard to non open source web document management solutions for highly regulated companies, please feel free to contact a MasterControl representative.