Patrick E. Bennett, Jr., Computer Consultant ... computing support for small business

"I've been running surveys the past four years, asking companies why they went with an open source solution," Gartner's Wurster told LinuxInsider. "[All] have adopted open source because there is a perception of a lower total cost of ownership [and] lower cost of technical support services -- and the open code and standards gives them vendor independence and flexibility."

That's the conclusion of Laurie Wurster, an analyst for industry expert Gartner, shared with the Linux Insider in their article Open Source, the Recession and the Lower-TCO Promise .

There's no doubt about it, finances are tight in the current economy. It's times like these when small businesses realize that, first, they need to re-assess how they are spending money and look for ways to save, and second, that they couldn't afford not to have been doing that back in the good times.

I'm with those Laurie Wurster's been talking too - intelligent utilization of Free Open Source Software ("FOSS") is a great way to reduce your overhead - both at home and in your business - and it frees your from the indentured servitude otherwise known as "vendor lock-in".

I'd love to help your business find the right spots to put FOSS to work!