kineoopensource five ways to save with open source v01

8/14/2019 kineoopensource five ways to save with open source v01

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Five ways to slash costs: how opensource can save your business

VersionVersionVersionVersion 0.40.40.40.4

AuthorAuthorAuthorAuthor Steve Rayson and Mark Aberdour

DateDateDateDate 10 July 2008


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KineoKineoKineoKineo 2008200820082008 Five ways to slash costs: how open source can save your businessFive ways to slash costs: how open source can save your businessFive ways to slash costs: how open source can save your businessFive ways to slash costs: how open source can save your business

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License1

Introduction: openIntroduction: openIntroduction: openIntroduction: open sourcesourcesourcesource for changing timesfor changing timesfor changing timesfor changing times

Running a business means controlling costs. Never more so than in challenging times like these.

But theres a new way now. The rise of free and open source software means the cost base of the

small to medium enterprise should never be the same again. The development of the internet and

in particular the growth of software as a service (or SaaS) means that small to medium

businesses can use best in class solutions at very low cost. These solutions include customer

relationship management, website content management, telephony, information management,

staff online learning and personal productivity tools.

This guide explores

Why open source is a no-brainer for business What does free mean? An explanation of how it works Five cost areas where open source can make a big impact How to get started: Kineo Open Source

ContentsContentsContentsContents::::

Introduction: open source for changing timesIntroduction: open source for changing timesIntroduction: open source for changing timesIntroduction: open source for changing times ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 1111Why open source is a noWhy open source is a noWhy open source is a noWhy open source is a no----brainer for businessbrainer for businessbrainer for businessbrainer for business........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2222What does free mean?What does free mean?What does free mean?What does free mean? ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3333Its freeIts freeIts freeIts free whats the catch?whats the catch?whats the catch?whats the catch? .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4444Helping you get the most from open source: SoHelping you get the most from open source: SoHelping you get the most from open source: SoHelping you get the most from open source: Software as a Service (SaaS)ftware as a Service (SaaS)ftware as a Service (SaaS)ftware as a Service (SaaS) ........................................................................ 5555Five ways to save with free and open source toolsFive ways to save with free and open source toolsFive ways to save with free and open source toolsFive ways to save with free and open source tools ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6666Get the benefits today: How Kineo Open Source can helpGet the benefits today: How Kineo Open Source can helpGet the benefits today: How Kineo Open Source can helpGet the benefits today: How Kineo Open Source can help ............................................................................................................................................................................ 16161616


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Why open source is a noWhy open source is a noWhy open source is a noWhy open source is a no----brainer for businessbrainer for businessbrainer for businessbrainer for business

Lets start with the business case for open source. Its pretty simple:

Huge software cost saving

Lets take it as a given that you face costs in your business in areas such as telephony, customerrelationship management, and website development, among others. Lets also take it as a given

that software makes a huge difference to your peoples productivity in these areas and hence

generates cost savings.

So what if that software was better supported than the commercial software youre currently

using, with no licence fees?

Thats what open source delivers.

Open source is collaboratively developed software that is shared with no license fees. People get

together, build something, then give it away, and provide access to the source code, so that anyonecan contribute ideas for its continued improvement and development. So instead of the people on

the payroll of a software company working on it, a huge (and voluntary) developer community

around the world is making the software better, and keeping it free.

Doesnt sound very businesslike? IBM, Google and many others would disagree.

We are way beyond the tipping point for open source in organizations:

Organizations are saving millions of dollars on IT by using open source software. In 2004, open

source software saved large companies (with annual revenue of over $1 billion) an average of $3.3

million. Medium-sized companies (between $50 million and $1 billion in annual revenue) saved an

average $1.1 million. Firms with revenues under $50 million saved an average $520,000. Walli,

S., Gynn, D., Rotz, B. V. The Growth of Open Source Software in Organizations: A Report.

If youre running a small to medium business, and youre looking to improve productivity and

reduce costs, youve got to look at open source.

You dont need to be a geek to get itOpen Source software was previously difficult for small business to implement. It often involved

downloading software, setting up a server and a high degree of technical skills. The labour skills

and the effort required started to cut quite deeply into the potential savings.

However, that has all changed with the advent of software as a service (SaaS) and a growing

number of specialized open source SaaS providers. SaaS has been pioneered by service providers

such as Salesforce.com (which isnt open source), and means the software resides on a providers

servers and they take care of all technical issues for an annual fee. Theyre not licensing the

software its free. Theyre providing you with a secure hosted and supported service to get you

the software (by they, we mean Kineo Open Source - but more about that later).


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Its freeIts freeIts freeIts free whats the catch?whats the catch?whats the catch?whats the catch?

Theres still some nervousness about open source. You may face it in your own organization when

it comes to convincing others to take it forward. To help them, and you, here are some common

fear factors - and why you dont need to be scared

Open source feOpen source feOpen source feOpen source fear factorar factorar factorar factor Dont be scaredDont be scaredDont be scaredDont be scared

What happens if the tool justWhat happens if the tool justWhat happens if the tool justWhat happens if the tool just

goes away? If theres nogoes away? If theres nogoes away? If theres nogoes away? If theres no

commercial organization incommercial organization incommercial organization incommercial organization in

charge, couldnt it just stopcharge, couldnt it just stopcharge, couldnt it just stopcharge, couldnt it just stop

being supported?being supported?being supported?being supported?

Thats a lot less likely to happen with open source than with

most software youre using, which lets face it will end up

being discontinued at some point due to acquisition or

upgrade. Sure, some open source products are owned by a

company who does the bulk of development, but with open

source the code is ultimately owned by everyone and no-one

and thats much safer.

What about security? SoundsWhat about security? SoundsWhat about security? SoundsWhat about security? Sounds

like it might be prone tolike it might be prone tolike it might be prone tolike it might be prone toviruses and hacks, who knowsviruses and hacks, who knowsviruses and hacks, who knowsviruses and hacks, who knows

whats in that code?whats in that code?whats in that code?whats in that code?

This is one myth where the reverse is actually true. Just ask

NATO, the US Department of Defence or NASA, who are all bigadvocates of open source. The fact is, without full access to

the source code, a full security audit is impossible, which

makes closed source code much less secure. With high profile

examples of enterprise applications which contained Trojan

code or back doors for many years before they were

detected, security is one area where you can trust open

source.

if anyone can change theif anyone can change theif anyone can change theif anyone can change the

code, isnt it inherentlycode, isnt it inherentlycode, isnt it inherentlycode, isnt it inherently

unstable? How do I know myunstable? How do I know myunstable? How do I know myunstable? How do I know myversion is going to run?version is going to run?version is going to run?version is going to run?

Actually no. With code being reviewed and interfaces tested by

far more people than a proprietary software house could even

afford or find, bugs are found and fixed quickly. Or, in opensource nerd-speak: Many eyes make all bugs shallow.

Additionally, due to the logistics of having developers

distributed around the world working out of the same code

repository, release management and version control is

handled far more rigorously in open source than in most

proprietary software companies. While interim releases come

more rapidly, great care is taken to release stable versions at

key milestones.

Nothings really free is itNothings really free is itNothings really free is itNothings really free is it

arent there costs to install,arent there costs to install,arent there costs to install,arent there costs to install,host and support it.host and support it.host and support it.host and support it.

Actually some things really are free. The fact is, there are

absolutely no licence costs for open source, it is freelyavailable for all to download.

But yes, there are costs involved the effort of reviewing and

selecting tools, to start with. Then there are labour costs to

install, host, train and support users and upgrade to new

versions (the same as youd expect for commercial software).

But small to medium businesses dont need to go it alone

here. Companies like Kineo Open Source provide leading open

source tools on a secure and hosted platform with all the

services business needs, so that plugging into open source is

easy and extremely cost effective


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Helping you get the most from open source: Software asHelping you get the most from open source: Software asHelping you get the most from open source: Software asHelping you get the most from open source: Software as

a Service (SaaS)a Service (SaaS)a Service (SaaS)a Service (SaaS)

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a model of software deployment where an application is hosted as

a service provided to customers across the Internet. By eliminating the need to install and run theapplication on the customer's own computer, SaaS alleviates the burden of software maintenance,

ongoing operation and support from the customer. Using SaaS also can reduce the up-front

expense as it is paid for on a monthly or annual basis.

A good example of commercial SaaS is Salesforce.com which is a leading Customer Relationship

Management Tool. Before salesforce.com, the standard CRM package was a software package

youd buy and install locally. Running it on multiple machines, accessing it remotely, syncing data

was all painful. But Salesforce moved the industry into an SaaS model with its commercial

customer relationship management software which is available to customers for a monthly fee.

This is not free or open source software and the pricing includes a software licence fee. The ease

of access was a major advance Salesforce built a successful business on the back of theadvertising slogan No Software!.

Free and open source software is now available on an SaaS basis think Salesforce without the

software licence fee. For example, Sugar CRM is customer relationship management software

which is completely free and does practically everything that Salesforce can. A number of

companies including Kineo Open Source offer this CRM software on an SaaS basis. The fee for

open source software on a SaaS basis tends to be lower than that for commercial software as

there is no licence fee element. Thus you can have your very own CRM system with robust

functionality to manage all client contacts, newsletters, marketing campaigns from as little as

750 which will buy you hosting and support for a year. More importantly your Sugar CRM systemcan be set up and operating within a few days.

Now that weve explained the benefits and the key aspects of freeware and open source, lets look

at five key business areas where they can make a huge impact.


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Five ways to save with free and open source toolsFive ways to save with free and open source toolsFive ways to save with free and open source toolsFive ways to save with free and open source tools

Telephony - Skype

Business benefit:Business benefit:Business benefit:Business benefit:Most businesses spend more than they want to on phone

calls. Making fewer calls is not the answer. Making them for

free would help and thats what Skype does.

What is it?What is it?What is it?What is it?

Still using landlines? How 20th century

Skype use Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) to allow you to

make free calls to other Skype users and very low cost calls

to landlines across the world. You can also hold freeconference and video calls using Skype.

Skype has over 53 million registered users across the world,

with the software available for a multitude of systems

including Windows, Mac OS, Linux and even portable

devices. A huge number of businesses (including Kineo)

have made it the standard way of making landline calls both

internally and with customers.

Skype works in a number of ways: you can "call" another computer if the user is online or you canmake calls to phones as normal telephone calls. SkypeOut (the landline dialling service) isn't just

restricted to local or national calls, either. International rates are also provided on the Skype

website and these look very reasonable compared to the British telecom rates. Skype's system

enables you to call a range of countries using their unified rate ( 0.017 per minute) compared to

BT's crunching 0.05 per minute on their BT Together plan (all the phone companies are offering

or looking similar VOIP services), though you have to pre-buy credit.

You can still surf the web at the same time as making or receiving a call with any disruption. Using

large amounts of bandwidth when downloading from the web can cause your calls to break up,

though.

Skype really requires a broadband connection to work properly. Trying to have a conversation on

dialup is going to have an adverse effect on sound quality. It's also advisable, if you're planning on

using Skype a lot, to buy an integrated headphone/microphone headset. When using a standard

speaker/microphone set up, the sound coming out of your speakers can often be rebroadcast to

your caller.

Get the most from it:Get the most from it:Get the most from it:Get the most from it:

Bring your friends: you can hold conference calls using Skype with up to 10 people. This can really

save the small business a fortune when you consider rates for renting conference call lines. Its


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KineoKineoKineoKineo 2008200820082008 Five ways to slash costs: how open source can save your buFive ways to slash costs: how open source can save your buFive ways to slash costs: how open source can save your buFive ways to slash costs: how open source can save your businesssinesssinesssiness


really easy to run these calls. Kineo Open Source can talk you through it: Skype us on

kineoopensource.

Swap information during the call - If you need to swap information to the other computer user in

the middle of a call, you can also use Skype's built-in instant messaging (IM) client which works

like a basic MSN Messenger. More immediate than email.

Never dial international from your landline again: if youre making international phone calls,

Skype really is a no-brainer. The savings are immense - you can call landlines for extremely low

rates, or if you get your client or colleagues onto Skype too, the whole thing is free.

Take it furtherTake it furtherTake it furtherTake it further

You canYou canYou canYou can download Skype for free at www.skype.com.

Kineo Open Source can provide training and support around Skype usage for you and your team,

Contact kineopopensource on Skype or go to www.kineoopensource.com for more information.


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Website Creation and Content Management Joomla

Business benefit:Business benefit:Business benefit:Business benefit:

For most business, a web presence is a must-have. But

traditionally the software required has been a major

expense, and the maintenance costs are like a slotmachine. But with Joomla, You can build and maintain a

sophisticated website using a free open source web

content management system. You can also use

components such as OS Commerce to create your own

online e-commerce services. What software fee?


Joomla is an award-winning Content Management System (CMS) that will help you build websites

and other powerful online applications. Joomla is an open source solution that is freely available

to everybody. Joomla is used all over the world to power everything from simple, personal

homepages to complex corporate web applications. Applications include:

Corporate websites Online commerce Small business websites Non-profit and organizational websites Government applications Corporate intranets and extranets Community-based portals Magazines and newspapers

Joomla can be used to easily manage every aspect of your website, from adding content and

images to updating a product catalog or taking online reservations. Kineo Open Sources own

website is a Joomla site.

Make the moMake the moMake the moMake the most of it:st of it:st of it:st of it:

Build on the basics: Joomla has a large and growing range of plug-ins that can really evolve yoursite. Look out for the many Joomla components built by the community including form

applications, banner management, calendars, payment systems and many more. Over 3,000 more,

to be precise, at http://extensions.joomla.org/


You can download Joomla at www.joomla.org

Kineo Open Source can provide- Joomla install and support services if you want it on your own server- Hosting and support on our secure servers


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- Joomla design and site development- Joomla training

www.kineoopensource.com(Built in Joomla, of course)


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Customer relationship management system - Sugar CRM


Sales team management made

cost effective.

If youre using Saleforce, take adeep breath then have a look at

this.. Sugar CRM is a free way

of tracking all of your customer

data to ensure your sales team

are productive and on target.


Sugar CRM is a complete

customer relationship

management system to help youidentify, track and acquire

customers. It enables you to

keep details on all your customers and all the contact you have with them.Sugar CRM functionality includes:

Client and contact database Lead, Opportunity and Account Management Team Management and Sales Forecasting Campaign Management, Email Marketing Case Management and Incident Tracking Activity, Calendar, and Project Management Microsoft Outlook Integration Mobile Support Workflow Management

Sugar CRM also has great reporting features including advanced Reporting across all Sugar

modules and customizable Dashboards.

Make the most of it:Make the most of it:Make the most of it:Make the most of it:

Integrate Sugar with your Outlook so you can add clients to the Sugar CRM database easily fromOutlook.

Where can you get itWhere can you get itWhere can you get itWhere can you get it

http://sourceforge.net/projects/sugarcrm

Take iTake iTake iTake it further:t further:t further:t further:

Kineo Open Source can host, train and support your team with:

Installation and configurationInstallation and configurationInstallation and configurationInstallation and configuration services


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KineoKineoKineoKineo 2008200820082008 Five ways to slash costs: how open source can saFive ways to slash costs: how open source can saFive ways to slash costs: how open source can saFive ways to slash costs: how open source can save your businessve your businessve your businessve your business


CustomisationCustomisationCustomisationCustomisation using bespoke or open source extensions Theme developmentTheme developmentTheme developmentTheme development services Free and unlimited professional supportFree and unlimited professional supportFree and unlimited professional supportFree and unlimited professional support from our service desk specialists Free upgradesFree upgradesFree upgradesFree upgrades to major, compatible version releases Administrator trainingAdministrator trainingAdministrator trainingAdministrator training Administrator supportAdministrator supportAdministrator supportAdministrator support End user manualsEnd user manualsEnd user manualsEnd user manuals No vendor lockNo vendor lockNo vendor lockNo vendor lock----inininin you are free to export your Sugar database to another vendors Sugar

or your own, at any time.

www.kineoopensource.com


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Staff Training & Development Moodle


Train and communicate with

your staff more efficiently, with

a free Learning ManagementSystem

Training costs are part of every

business. But the management

and tracking of training doesnt

have to add more costs. With

Moodle you can provide online

learning materials for all staff,

undertake assessments and

keep records for compliance

purposes with Moodle, theleading open source learning management system. It provides everything you need for an online

learning academy.


Moodle is an open source virtual learning environment or learning management system. It allows

organisations to create online learning portals and provides a vast array of functionality to allow

learners to be tracked, assessed and supported.

The Moodle course format allows many different learning resources to be added to any particular

course. These learning resources include:

word documents e-learning courses and modules pdf documents audio video web links

Moodle itself also provides tools to create quizzes and simple html pop up web pages, so that you

can create additional learning resources.

Moodle also has standard modules which you can use with a course which such as:

calendar (to book workshop/event dates) discussion forum chat room RSS feeds the ability for users to create their own blogs or learning records


See what weve done with it as an example: have a look at Kineos Moodle demo at

www.kineolearning.com/demo.


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You can download Moodle for free here: http://moodle.org/

Kineo open source can support you through:

Design of a specific look and feel for your Moodle to fit with your brand Design and development of any e-learning content you require through Kineo, the UKs

leading rapid e-learning company (www.kineo.com) Training on how to make the most from Moodle Technical support for Moodle Hosting for Moodle

Find out more at



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Office Software - OpenOffice


Who said theres no alternative to

Microsoft Office? Bill Gates,

probably. But hes stepped away and maybe you should too. You

can seriously reduce your

software costs with this free

alternative to Microsoft Office.


OpenOffice is an office suite

which includes a word processor,

database, drawing tool,

spreadsheet, presentation tool and mathematical function creator. Commonly when most peoplethink of office suite they think of Microsoft Office and associated products i.e. Word, Excel,

Powerpoint, Access.

OpenOffice runs on Windows, Linux and Solaris, and comprises the normal range of office

applications, with a word processor (Writer), spreadsheet (Calc) and presentation module

(Impress) at the fore, backed up by database and drawing tools. All can import Microsoft-

formatted files to an impressive degree, and can be set to export in Microsoft native formats for

use in mixed-suite environments. So your clients dont need to be running MS office to read

OpenOffice files. Though they might thank you for the cost saving suggestion.


One nice feature of OpenOffice is the Export Directly as PDF button. Located next to the print

button on the toolbar, this button acts just like a normal save button, but it saves your document

as an Adobe PDF file. If you are using Word you can install cute DF creator to do the same thing.


You can download OpenOffice for free here:

www.OpenOffice.org


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KineoKineoKineoKineo 2008200820082008 Five ways to slash costs: how opFive ways to slash costs: how opFive ways to slash costs: how opFive ways to slash costs: how open source can save your businessen source can save your businessen source can save your businessen source can save your business


Related Desktop softwareThere is a great range of other free desktop software:

Thunderbird for email, http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/products/thunderbird/ Image editing with tools such as Paint.NET and GIMP PDF Creator and Cute PDF for creating PDF documents Audacity for audio editing AVGs anti-virus software to protect your systems Survey Software you can run staff surveys using the free service available from Survey

Monkey or Lime Survey

Personal productivity: You can keep updated on the latest in your industry by gatheringRSS feeds using tools such as RSS Owl

Mindmapping: You can map out and brainstorm ideas using Freeminds mind mappingsoftware.

In a future guide, well share our tips and advice on making the most of these tools too.


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Get the benefits today: How Kineo Open Source can helpGet the benefits today: How Kineo Open Source can helpGet the benefits today: How Kineo Open Source can helpGet the benefits today: How Kineo Open Source can help

As this guide has shown, Open Source can deliver real benefits to business by improving

productivity and cutting costs in key areas.

To get the benefits of open source, many small to medium enterprises may need a trusted partnerwho can guide you through the options, provide help and support to get started, and make usage

for your team easy through secure hosted solutions and dedicated support.

At Kineo Open Source we are committed to providing organizations with competitive open source

solutions and great customer service.

We offer open source support services on demand, where we host and run everything for you. If

you prefer to have it all in-house, we will install and set up the software in your organization on

your own servers.

We can also provide support and tailored services to ensure you get the maximum impact from

open source software.

To realise the benefits of open source for business today, contact us:To realise the benefits of open source for business today, contact us:To realise the benefits of open source for business today, contact us:To realise the benefits of open source for business today, contact us:


7 Orange Row

Brighton

BN1 1UQ

Phone: 01273 728900

Skype ID: kineoopensource

Email: [email protected]

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a

letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

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kineoopensource five ways to save with open source v01