Business Accent

Free lunches do exist

They say that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Look around, maybe there is

Ipshita Basu Guha

Businesses, irrespective of their sizes, are driven by Information Technology. There has been an upsurge in the use of IT as a serious business tool for all segments of the economy ranging from small scale ones to large conglomerates. The smaller firms (SSI, SMEs) do not always have dedicated IT staff to manage their infrastructure unlike other departments. In this segment IT is seen as an enabler but not worthy of dedicated expenditure in terms of manpower. The smaller firms are more involved in managing their core business. These enterprises depend on their hardware vendor to recommend, supply, install and maintain their systems which includes the software too. This leads to serious lacunae in case of license compliance. Often the hardware vendor may install a huge basket of expensive software free of cost by using pirated CDs. They do not explain the implications of installing pirated copies of software on the computers. The entire setup is unorganised with huge scope of improvement. The passing message that goes is that it is alright to use such pirated stuff. This becomes a source for rampant piracy and usage of illegal software. There is a huge need for awareness drive, education and training of this segment of IT users to rid them of their ignorance, fear and non-compliance. The users must know that using pirated software is illegal. The seriousness in compliance (by SME and SSIs) related to IT systems is not as much as that of government regulations involving Taxation and Excise.

What is not clear to the masses is that one can face major monetary liability if there is a raid in their premises by NASSCOM or related organisations and they find users in possession of illegal or pirated copies of software. NASSCOM’s Web site clearly says that “NASSCOM also works closely with the Business Software Alliance (BSA) to enforce copyright laws”. Software companies spend huge sums on development of proprietary software. One needs to have the required license to use the software.

Managing TCO

Any license costs money. This affects your TCO directly. TCO stands for Total Cost of Ownership. It generally consists of the cost of hardware and software, regular maintenance, patches and product upgrade charges, procurement of newer versions of software when the current version is discontinued or phased out, regular support by the software vendor or your local hardware supplier with whom you generally have AMC (Annual Maintenance Contract) and the cost of the man hours spent by your staff to ride the learning curve. Using proprietary software requires you to abide by the licensing norms and payment of yearly maintenance fees till the time of usage.

That does not mean that I am drumming for the purchase of expensive licensed software and then paying yearly fees for its continuity and upkeep. There are ways and means to keep everything clean as well as maintain an inexpensive set-up.

Types of Software Licenses

There are various types of software available which can be segregated on the basis of their licensing pattern. Proprietary/ Commercial software are those which belong to specific companies and are copyrighted products. The source code (programs required to run an application) is not available to the users for self use. Many popular products fall under this category. They require you to have adequate licenses for use. At the other end of the spectrum lies Free Software. It is one which as the term suggests is absolutely free for use by anybody. It can be easily distributed across geographies. These are also called Copyleft or open source software. This software can be modified by anybody using the source code but essentially all variations have to remain free for people to use. The GNU system (stands for GNU is not UNIX) comes under this category. The source code is available freely for free use and modification. Even an operating system can be free for use. Open source describes the principles and methodologies to promote open access to the production and design process for various goods, products and resources. One of the main benefits of open source is that the license fee is either non-existent or nominal.

There can be some restrictions in Open Source software in specific cases. There are other categories namely Freeware and Shareware. Freeware is free to use but the codes cannot be modified. Sharewares can be redistributed but the user has to pay a license fee.

Windows, Macintosh or Linux

How does this information on categorisation of software help you in reducing your TCO and achieve licensing compliance too? For starters it helps you understand that there are options for you to choose from. In today’s highly integrated globalised environment one of the main sources of differentiation of products and services is effective branding. Brand in layman’s term is a name associated with a product or service. If you observe around you there are many instances when we use the name of a brand instead of the item itself. One of the most common examples is the synonymous usage of the words Xerox and photocopying or Cadbury and chocolate. Another area of such an example of branding is Windows in computers. It is difficult to believe but it is a fact that an average user does not understand what an operating system is and even if they do then Windows and operating system are synonymous.

The main software that is used in any standard computer is the operating system (OS). Users have the option to buy a licensed Windows product like Windows XP Professional, Vista or Macintosh which are proprietary or a Linux distribution like Fedora Core or Ubuntu. One can get a copy of Fedora with a Fedora Book costing few hundred rupees or order a free CD of Ubuntu over the Internet. An average local hardware person might not be competent enough to handle these operating systems though they are not complicated. The reason is lack of exposure towards these operating systems and no incentive to learn newer things. Luckily enough all major cities in India including B-class cities have Linux User Groups or LUGs. They are readily available to help you in installation, training and maintenance of your systems for free or at a nominal cost.

Many people shy away from trying the flavors of Linux distributions (or commonly termed as distros) simply because of a misconception that it has only character user interface. An important conceptual correction for the layman is that Linux is not only CUI (Character User Interface) like DOS but it also has GUI (Graphical User Interface) like Windows and Macintosh.

The next most common requirement in a computer is regular tools for document preparation, presentation, spreadsheets etc. There is a free option called OpenOffice. The tools are similar to MS Office and the striking feature is that one can create documents which will be compliant with Word, Excel or PowerPoint. This software can be downloaded directly from www.openoffice.org for free apart from getting it bundled with other applications.

Unlike certain products where you have to buy and install the OS, business tools, databases, email application, Internet browser, image editing software, desktop publishing tools etc separately, Linux distros have everything bundled together. You can choose all the applications that you want to use while installing the OS. This includes free database applications like MySQL, Internet Browser like Mozilla, PDF file creators and hoards of games apart from other rudimentary stuff. Even OpenOffice comes bundled with Linux distros and spares you the hassle of downloading it over weak and slow Internet connections. These options can be used by enterprises as well as home users alike.

It is not necessary or mandatory to install only Linux and remove Windows or Macintosh entirely. One can mix and match their software installations based on your need and financial capability. It is not compulsory to use only Microsoft products with Microsoft OS. One can have a Windows OS and Open Office as the office tool, free CD/ DVD burning applications, Mozilla instead of Internet Explorer. Thus all one pays for regularly is the operating system license cost. There is lots of open source software available on the Internet having an entire gamut of features and applications. OpenMFG is one open source ERP which can be downloaded directly from the Internet and configured and customized for use. With a little amount of time and perseverance smaller companies with lower budgets can opt for alternate software which is either free or comparatively cheaper. If you already have licensed software one can decide to continue using it or switch over to a cheaper alternative at the time of renewal.

This article does not wish to propagate or derogate any specific company, environment, operating system etc. The argument is also not about which one is better or worse. The aim is to highlight that there are other options available for people to choose from which are capable of delivering similar functionalities. It is for the user to decide the parameters on which he can decide what to opt for.

The author works with a pharma company as Business Systems Analyst. The views expressed here are her own, and not necessarily those of her employer. She may be reached at ipbasu@rediffmail.com