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Open Source Software: Opportunities and Challenges

Open Source Software: Opportunities and Challenges
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Author(s): Sofiane Sahraoui (American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates)and Nour Al-Nahas (American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates)
Copyright: 2004
Pages: 4
Source title: Innovations Through Information Technology
Source Editor(s): Mehdi Khosrow-Pour, D.B.A. (Information Resources Management Association, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59140-261-9.ch197
ISBN13: 9781616921255
EISBN13: 9781466665347

Abstract

Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) is an imposing business reality but only an emerging discipline of business research. Critical questions have been so far only tangentially investigated and were mostly left to IT columnists and consultants to deal with, generally in a partisan fashion. Such important issues include the viability of FLOSS business models, the impact of FLOSS on the software industry structure and competitiveness, the FLOSS-based national IT strategies, the role of governments and other lobbying groups in promoting or combating FLOSS, and finally the vital matters of TCO, security, and performance among others. This paper tries to lay the foundation in analyzing the FLOSS phenomenon by pointing to the real opportunities that lie ahead and the critical challenges that have to be addressed before FLOSS can claim its rightful stake in the software industry.

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