IT Expert Voice

Yes, it really is possible to have high-quality Business Intelligence (BI) software without denting the corporate pocketbook too badly, or at all. Open source BI suites can provide all the services most organizations need without high costs. Two suites stand out today in the open source BI arena: Pentaho and JasperSoft. And, according to Gartner, companies should be looking strongly at open source BI in the next few years.

It’s not always possible to replace critical software with open source, but whenever possible it’s a good practice to invest in open source services to avoid vendor licensing and lock-in. Companies often look to open source offerings like Linux and Apache for infrastructure services, but overlook the availability of open source alternatives for applications higher up the stack.

Only a few years ago, it would have been difficult to find mature open source BI software, but Pentaho and JasperSoft are now established organizations and have become attractive alternatives to proprietary software. READ MORE

Microsoft SharePoint 2010 offers a lot to businesses. SharePoint includes a content management system, search, wikis, the ability to build intranets and external Web sites, all in one bundled solution. However, it also comes with a steep price tag and a number of dependencies that businesses might want to avoid. The good news is that open source solutions like Alfresco, MindTouch, and Drupal can be suitable replacements for SharePoint in many organizations.

Many businesses want the functionality of Microsoft SharePoint without the limitations and lock-in that come with building on a Microsoft platform. While SharePoint 2010 is undeniably a strong product, it has hefty system requirements and its use limits an organization’s IT choices in other areas. The only way to get full functionality out of SharePoint 2010 is by using Windows Server 2008 and Microsoft Office 2010 on the desktop – upgrades your organization may not be ready to deploy. READ MORE

Microsoft provides plenty of resources for IT shops considering an upgrade to Windows 7, but most of their guidelines assume an all-Microsoft environment. If you’re looking at deploying Windows 7 in a mixed operating system environment, such as one in which Linux and Windows computers coexist, then the resources are much more scarce. In this piece, experts in the field share their thoughts about deploying Windows 7 in an enterprise where Linux is an equal citizen. READ MORE

When a movie is as successful as James Cameron’s movie Avatar has been, Hollywood takes notice. We can assume that other studios and directors have taken copious notes on how to clone this generation’s answer to Star Wars (or at least we can be sure the movie studios will try). If they’re smart, the operating systems folks in Redmond are also learning from Avatar and are taking lessons on making the next iteration of Windows a blockbuster. READ MORE