Why Open Source?
The business case for open source infrastructure - maximum value, zero licensing fees

Why Open Source?

The Open Source Advantage

“Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow” - Linus’s Law

Open source isn’t just about free software - it’s about freedom, transparency, and getting maximum value from your IT investment.

The Cost Equation

Traditional Proprietary Software

Your Budget = Hardware + Software Licenses + Support Contracts + Upgrade Fees

Open Source Approach

Your Budget = Better Hardware + Expert Service + Full Control

The difference? Typically 40-60% cost savings that you can reinvest in superior hardware, redundancy, and professional services.

Key Benefits

Zero Licensing Costs

No per-user fees. No per-CPU charges. No annual renewals. 100% of your budget goes toward hardware and service that directly benefits your organization.

Example: A 50-user Zimbra deployment costs $0 in licensing. Compare that to Exchange/Office 365 at $12-35/user/month = $7,200-21,000/year.

No Vendor Lock-In

Your infrastructure, your data, your control. Switch providers, move to different hardware, customize as needed - no proprietary formats or vendor dependencies.

Enterprise-Grade Quality

Open source powers the world’s largest infrastructure:

  • Google, Facebook, Amazon - Linux and open source
  • 75% of Fortune 500 companies use open source
  • 90% of cloud infrastructure runs on Linux
  • 96% of web servers run open source software

If it’s good enough for Google, it’s good enough for your business.

Security Through Transparency

Open source code is reviewed by thousands of developers worldwide. Vulnerabilities are found and fixed faster than proprietary alternatives.

Public scrutiny > Security through obscurity

Flexibility & Customization

Need a specific feature? Want to integrate with existing systems? Open source allows complete customization without vendor permission or fees.

Future-Proof

Projects don’t disappear when a company is acquired or goes bankrupt. Active communities ensure long-term viability and support.

Privacy & Compliance

Your data stays on your infrastructure. No third-party access. Perfect for GDPR, POPIA, HIPAA, and other compliance requirements.

Proven Track Record

Technologies like Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PostgreSQL have decades of proven reliability in mission-critical environments.

Real-World Comparisons

Email Infrastructure

Proprietary Option (Microsoft 365):

  • 50 users × $12/month = $7,200/year
  • 5 years = $36,000
  • Plus: migration costs, training, ongoing fees

Open Source Option (Zimbra):

  • One-time setup: $5,000-8,000
  • Hardware: $3,000-5,000
  • Annual support: $1,000-2,000/year
  • 5 years = ~$18,000-23,000

Savings: $13,000-18,000 over 5 years

Private Cloud Storage

Proprietary Option (Dropbox Business):

  • 20 users × $20/month = $4,800/year
  • 5 years = $24,000

Open Source Option (Nextcloud):

  • One-time setup: $3,000-5,000
  • Hardware: $2,000-3,000
  • Annual maintenance: $500-1,000/year
  • 5 years = ~$10,000-13,000

Savings: $11,000-14,000 over 5 years

Virtualization Platform

Proprietary Option (VMware vSphere):

  • Licensing: $3,000-6,000/CPU
  • 3 hosts (6 CPUs) = $18,000-36,000
  • Annual support: 20-25% = $3,600-9,000/year
  • 5 years = $36,000-81,000

Open Source Option (Proxmox VE):

  • Licensing: $0
  • Optional enterprise support: $1,200-2,400/year
  • Hardware investment: Better specs with licensing savings
  • 5 years = $6,000-12,000

Savings: $30,000-69,000 over 5 years

But What About Support?

Myth: “You get what you pay for. Free software means no support.”

Reality:

  • Community Support: Massive, active communities for all major open source projects
  • Commercial Support: Available for all enterprise open source software
  • Expert Services: That’s where we come in - professional deployment, configuration, and ongoing support

You’re not alone. You get:

  • Professional implementation by Linux experts
  • Ongoing technical support
  • Monitoring and maintenance
  • Training and documentation
  • Access to global community resources

The Open Source Ecosystem

Technologies we use daily:

Infrastructure:

  • Linux - The world’s most used operating system
  • Proxmox VE - Enterprise virtualization
  • KVM - Kernel-based hypervisor
  • Ceph - Distributed storage
  • ZFS - Advanced filesystem

Applications:

  • Nextcloud - Private cloud platform
  • Zimbra - Email and collaboration
  • NGINX - Web server
  • PostgreSQL/MySQL - Databases

Security:

  • WireGuard - Modern VPN
  • Proxmox Mail Gateway - Email security
  • Fail2ban - Intrusion prevention
  • Let’s Encrypt - Free SSL certificates

Our Philosophy

  1. Open Source First: Use battle-tested open source solutions whenever possible
  2. Hardware Investment: Redirect licensing savings to better hardware
  3. Expert Implementation: Professional deployment for reliability and performance
  4. Knowledge Transfer: Empower your team with training and documentation
  5. Long-term Partnership: Ongoing support and evolution of your infrastructure

Ready to Maximize Your IT Budget?

Let’s show you exactly how much you can save while gaining better technology.

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