Organization Weighs Use of Open Source Software. You began operating a small general electric contracting company two years ago. Originally, it was just you and your cousin, but it has grown to five licensed electricians, plus one office manager who takes calls from customers, schedules the work, and orders parts and supplies. Your company handles a wide range of work, including installing new circuit breaker panels, rewiring existing electrical systems for renovations and additions, and installing residential light fixtures, security lighting systems, swimming pool lighting, and ceiling fans. Business has really taken off, and your current manual systems and procedures can no longer keep pace. The office manager has been exploring several options and has identified three different software packages designed for small contractors. Each one of the packages includes software designed for managing parts and supplies inventory, scheduling jobs, and invoicing customers. One of the packages also provides the capability to perform accounts receivable and accounts payable functions. Two of the software packages are from large, well-known companies, and both have an initial licensing cost of roughly $550 plus $100 per year for software support. The other software package is open-source software, with no initial cost and no support cost. The office manager is unsure how to proceed, but has your agreement to spend up to $1000 on new software.
1. Which one of the following should be your next step?
a. Define the basic business functions that you need the software to be able perform.
b. Determine the date by which you need the new software installed and operational.
c. Talk to your cousin Vinnie who is an accountant in a large manufacturing firm.
d. Set an exact limit on how much you are willing to spend on office software.
2. Which of the following is the biggest potential issue the office manager faces if he elects to use open source software rather than a commercial package from a large, well-known company?
a. Getting support for the open source may prove difficult and time consuming.
b. Competitors may use the same open source software, so it will be impossible to gain a strategic competitive advantage through use of cutting-edge technology.
c. The open source software may lack key features and capabilities needed to support office operations.
d. Because it is free, the open source software is much more likely to be less reliable and full of bugs
3. Regardless of which software package is chosen, which of the following measures should be taken to ensure continued effective use of the system?
a. At least one additional person should be trained in the use of the software in the event the office manager is absent.
b. Retain, on a part-time basis, a programmer/analyst to provide support for the new office software.
c. A second software package should be acquired in the event that the first package does not work well or crashes.
d. Purchase a new computer with more memory and a faster processor to run the new software package.