The match making?

This is very likely to be the point where a bunch of people feel compelled to comment on this post and just how plain wrong, shortsighted, and ill-informed I am. Thank you – all comments to the rear carriage (no seriously the comments section is at the bottom of the post).

My view has been formed by my experiences over 17 years and as such, I welcome new opportunities to learn from others experiences.

Boiling down the above sections into a snapshot looks like this:

So, here goes (deep breath) – this is a generalistic overview of how I believe open & closed source & Saas software are suited to business by size:

Small business

The table above outlines my belief that small businesses are suited to open source & the proposition is questionable for closed source software is based on the assumptions that I outlined about small business is the previous section.

That an open source software, hosted on a shared environment, with a cheap non-exclusive ‘template’ design and little or no ongoing maintenance is a MATCH.

Closed source may be appropriate for a small business when:

1. Where your needs are so limited that a Squarespace-like SaaS product can fulfill the requirements and the price is incredibly cheap at less than $20 per month.
2. If you’re an eCommerce business – yes, there is Magento, however, I am quite comfortable to have the debate that Magento, even in its community version, is not a SMALL business software.
3. When your website is capturing users personal data and your budget does not enable you to deploy and manage the appropriate security measures.
4. If the business has specialized industry requirements that require custom development.

Medium-sized business

I contend that for medium-sized businesses, closed source solutions (particularly SaaS products), are best matched as a guide. Why/how?

1. As functionality requirements increase, in the open source environments this requires either the installation of many 3rd party plugins or the development of custom code. Both of these scenarios should pose cause for concern of a medium sized business and I explain why here;
2. The availability and skills of IT resources are not sufficient to maintain a reliable and high performing website.
3. Website uptime is critical to revenue and reputation. A closed source SaaS solution mostly provides you with an infrastructure environment that can absorb the unforeseen fluctuations in traffic.

Open source is also well-matched for a medium-sized business when:

1. When the business has the available IT/technical skills to self-manage the maintenance of the application and operating environment + monitor the website’s performance 24 x 7, without significant opportunity cost to the business.
2. When the business has the budget to pay a provider to monitor and maintain the website including the patching/updating of the operating environment, application, and any custom code/3rd party plugins.
3. When the business is a predominantly offline business and its digital marketing needs have not grown in line with its size.

Large businesses

Here I believe that both solutions are appropriate and that ultimately the structure and focus of the business determine the best solution.

The pros and cons of open and closed source in the large organization need its own post – for the purposes of this post, let’s call it a closely fought draw. The reasoning behind not going into further detail here is that large organizations are far more experienced with making technology decisions and the digital marketing technology environment.