Don't forget the intangibles when comparing platforms

While most open source applications are available as a free download, many resellers choose to buy commercial versions of open source products for access to support, media and documentation.

For CRN Test Centre's open source example, various free downloads and commercial open source products were considered.

Commercial open source products considered included Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES Standard Edition, MAXDB by MySQL, ListServ Lite by L-Soft and the PHP development suite Zend Studioplus. Apache Web Server usually comes bundled in any Linux distribution.

Arjen Lentz, representative for MySQL in Australia, says sometimes open source-derived products do need licences that cost money. 'That happens when someone builds a product that is linked with the MySQL client or server code and they distribute that outside their legal realm, then they would be breaking the GPL licence. At that point, they require a licence, if it's a closed source solution,' Lentz says.

In that case, the free GPL is nullified and the application licence costs A$750 per server, although the price does not depend on the number of users, databases or CPUs. 'When in doubt, ask us,' Lentz says. 'If you feel the need to ask your company lawyers whether you need a commercial licence or not, it's probably cheaper to buy the licence than pay the lawyers,' he says.

Test Centre used Microsoft software with documentation, media and, in some cases, free support. Microsoft Certified Partners may receive added free support.

For platforms requiring extensive support and maintenance, a support contract with a vendor can quickly pay for itself. Few deployments remain static and commercial software is better equipped with support and upgrade mechanisms to help keep it working.

However, if user needs mean an application may stay relatively static, open source may offer better value for both reseller and customer.

Many open source products are also available on the Windows platform, allowing resellers to combine elements of both to suit customer needs. Overall, ROI can be affected by less tangible factors such as support contracts, upgrade cycles, training, certification and marketability. For example, open source could be used in the development end of an implementation and commercial software to support the infrastructure. For the right customer, a solution like that may offer the best of both worlds. When facing a choice between open source and commercial software, resellers need to be sure they are comparing apples with apples. The wrong choice could cut a reseller's profits.

If developers need a lot of hand-holding, commercial software vendors may offer the support and training to help speed a project along. If developers have excellent technical knowledge and can commit long-term to a custom solution, open source may offer the best balance of cutting-edge capabilities and freedom to build a wider range of applications.

Open source solution

Red Hat Linux operating system: A$449-A$25,714 (for Red Hat Enterprise Linux including Apache, SendMail, MySQL, PHP and Perl development tools plus Mailman mailing list management software, depending on platform and support level)

SuSE Linux operating system: A$51-A$41,250 (for SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9)

Gentoo Linux operating system: $0 or for price of CD

MySQL database engine: $0-A$750

PHP and Perl development tools, SendMail email server and ListServ mailing list server: available as free downloads*

Microsoft Virtual PC 2004: A$220

Support and service extra

Microsoft solution

Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition: A$1778*

Internet Information Server (included): A$0

SQL Server 2000 Standard: A$2587*

Exchange Server 2003 Standard: A$2256*

Visual Studio .Net 2003 Professional: A$1882

Microsoft Australia prices for versions with five client licences.