Is open source recession proof?

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In the Hardware 2.0 mailbag the other day I received an interesting question concerning open source software and the effect that a recession might have on it. I’ve got some thoughts on this myself but I thought that it would be interesting to throw this to you the reader to comment on.

Here’s a condensed version of the email I received:

I own and run a small family business and we’ve given serious thought to switching over from commercial software (Windows, MS Office and so on) to open source software instead (Linux, Open Office and so on). This switch would represent quite a savings over a five year period.

However, all this talk of recession makes we wonder if this if this isn’t the wrong time to be switching. From what I understand of open source software the majority of the work is done by volunteers, people who get a pay check elsewhere. If times become harder, won’t these people stop giving their time away for free and won’t this mean that patches, updates and new versions will dry up?

OK, first off, I want to make it clear that I’m not making any predictions about whether there’s a coming recession or not. I’ll leave that to others. However, the question is itself a valid and interesting one.

Is open source recession proof?

* Yes (70%)
* No (30%)

Total Votes: 2,454
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So, how might a recession affect open source software? Well, first off, I think that any business model that relies on volunteers could certainly see interest decline if times get tough. There are a lot of businesses that rely on people working for them for free because they get a pay check somewhere else, and I think that a recession would make people question working getting any dollars in return. The flip-side of this though is that being an active part of an open source project is a lot different to spending all day on YouTube or Flickr because some people (remember, the vast majority of the work done on open source projects - even high profile ones - is done by a small number of people) will get something cool to put on their CV.

Another thing to bear in mind is that many of the big open source projects have core staff that consists of developers. This means that even if all volunteer help dried up, the project could still live and breathe. However, smaller projects could still be hit quite hard.

Another area where a recession could harm open source is in hardware support. Plenty of hardware vendors have expressed a desire to become more open source friendly (specifically, Linux-friendly). In an industry where profit margins can be tight during good economic times this demonstrates considerable goodwill, but if times get harder then support for Linux could be something that’s abandoned.

All that said though, if switching to open source is going to save you money in the now (and I’d urge anyone thinking of making the switch to think this through carefully - being mindful of hidden costs such as training and downtime) then that’s a good thing for you.

I open the floor …

Start-ups 2.0. Cum poţi transforma o idee într-un business în mediul online?

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Sunteţi nevoiţi să apelaţi din ce în ce mai des la serviciile companiilor web şi vreţi să înţelegeţi mai bine ce să le cereţi şi ce nu?

Criza economică actuală pune tot mai mulţi antreprenori sub o presiune puternică. Este din ce în ce mai dificil să găseşti noi resurse şi modalităţi de a reduce costurile şi ineficienţa. Ce soluţii au la îndemână antreprenorii pentru eficientizarea afacerilor? Când este cel mai bun moment să vinzi?

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Un loc unde vei avea posibilitatea de a face networking şi unde te poţi întâlni cu cei mai buni şi inovatori reprezentanţi ai industriei online din România

Speakeri:

Péter Barta — Consultant, Director Executiv al Fundaţiei Post Privatizare (FPP)

Marius Ghenea — Preşedinte PCfun

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Mugur Isarescu: Primavara aceasta, creditarea se va debloca

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mugur isarescu,creditare,banci

Mugur Isarescu, guvernatorul BNR, sustine ca in aceasta primavara, creditarea se va debloca, dar atrage atentia ca daca Romania ar fi avut in ultimul timp acelasi ritm de crestere a creditarii ca in anii anteriori, fara sa resimta efectele crizei financiare, "ne-am fi inglodat in datorii" in cel mult 2 ani.

"Paradoxal, aceasta criza economica poate avea si efecte pozitive pentru Romania. Daca nu venea criza si continuam sa beneficiem de credite asa cum s-a intamplat in ultimii ani, probabil ca in decurs de un an sau doi ne-am fi inglodat in datorii", a spus Isarescu, citat de NewsIn.

Pe de alta parte, el a mentionat ca Romania "sta inca sub spectrul franarii mult prea brutale a creditarii", care se va debloca in primavara.

"Nu reprosez nimic bancilor, cred ca se vor reaseza repede, asta insemnand ca in aceasta primavara vor reporni creditarea", a mai spus Isarescu.

El a precizat insa ca Romania are nevoie de echilibru "in abordarea tuturor problemelor legate de criza economico-financiara" si totodata, a cerut pastrarea optimismului ca Romania va inregistra anul acesta o cresterere economica intre 1 si 2%.

Sursa: http://www.dailybusiness.ro/

Studiu ce vizeaza atitudinea IMM-urilor si antreprenorilor fata de online

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e-Invest, in parteneriat cu Fundatia Post Privatizare (FPP), lanseaza un studiu care-si propune sa raspunda catorva intrebari cheie privind atitudinea IMM-urilor si antreprenorilor fata de proiectele online.

Studiul isi propune sa releve, printre altele, care este gradul actual de interes din partea antreprenorilor si IMM-urilor in legatura cu piata de online din Romania, care sunt sumele pe care IMM-urile sau antreprenorii le-ar investi in zona online sau care sunt zonele catre care s-ar putea indrepta pentru sprijin (logistic, know-how sau financiar), se arata in comunicatul de presa.

Targetat la nivel national, studiul se adreseaza in egala masura IMM-urilor si profesiilor liberale din Romania precum si antreprenorilor si are ca scop contributia activa la dezvoltarea acestui sector, pentru a oferi competitivitate pe piata interna si externa.

Concluziile acestui studiu vor reprezenta baza pe care FPP va putea formula propuneri pentru elaborarea si ajustarea strategiei Ministerului pentru Intreprinderi Mici si Mijlocii si Cooperatie in perioada urmatoare.

Studiul este disponibil pe CercetareOnline.ro, un produs e-Invest Marketing Romania.

Sursa: Startups.ro

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