Small Businesses Can Spot Rough Diamonds In Open Source Software
 Wyoming State Geological Survey published a report in 2004 titled Searching For Placer Diamonds by W. Dan Hausel. It says, I quote from the report here: "Even so, many diamonds would still have gone unrecognized because most people didn't know how to identify diamonds. By becoming familiar with the characteristics of rough diamonds, a prospector will be better prepared to find these elusive gemstones."
You are a business person. As an SMB, you can judge value when you study something...even if the value is not obvious, right? How about something like a rough diamond? You are not going to ignore a rough diamond that is readily available to you, just because it doesn't have the sparkle, just because it is not presented in a nice jewelry case with spotlights, just because there are not any sales people trying to make a hard sale to you, right?
Open Source Software Is Like Rough Diamonds
Open source software is out there, available free for you to take. But, it is not cut and polished and there are no showrooms and no sales people presenting it in the most attractive way to pull in customers.
The documentation is sparse and where available it is not slick and glossy like that for commercial software. The open source software web sites are not professionally designed. In fact many look like hobby sites. Support is sometimes not available directly from the same source. In the discussion forums the people don't seem to speak the same language as you and I. You cannot easily find case studies and success stories of other businesses who have used it. The real valuable software is often mixed with others of low or no value just like rough diamonds are often found mixed with dirt and rocks.
You are not convinced that open source software is as valuable as rough diamonds, right? I agree. It is not as valuable as rough diamonds. How about more valuable? A lot more valuable!
Standish Group International of Boston, MA did extensive research over 5 years and came to the shocking conclusion that businesses have saved $60 Billion by using free open source software. That is a Billion with a 'B"! They said "The Standish Group's new study clearly shows how pervasive Open Source Software is used in industry today." That was in April 2008. In the past nearly two years, open source software usage has gone dramatically up. How much did your small medium business save? If you saved some money, that is good news. With that much to go around, perhaps you should shoot for more. If you didn't save any money, it is time to start.
You Have To Take The First Step
There are no sales people for some of the open source software because these are free of license fees and there are no commissions to be made. You are not going to get a phone call or an email from any sales person. If you want it, and if you think it can help improve your business, you have to take the initiative.
I will leave you with this parting thought from the Hausel report on Wyoming rough diamonds: "A number of diamonds have been found in Wyoming and neighboring Colorado by prospectors, companies, and geologists. Geological and mineralogical evidence suggest that many more of these gemstones will be encountered by prospectors in the future. To search for placer diamonds, the prospector first needs to become familiar with the commodity."
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