How To Keep Loafers From Slipping Off

Business Intelligence? Open Source! Curriki

While the use of software Open Source is becoming increasingly popular in private PCs (often using linux, firefox, openoffice, mysql ... just because the best solutions for a fee) on the other hand a growing number of public and private companies are beginning to look forward to the free software world.

The lower costs are certainly a major boost, but really the companies and open source solutions can compete with those in charge?
's example today is the software dedicated to BI (Business Intelligence).

do not have to look very far for proof of the maturity of open source BI.
Unionfidi, a major Italian financial institution active in credit to small and medium-sized companies, has replaced all existing BI solutions, including reporting, with an open source BI suite from 2006.
Another example is the Ministry of Health has chosen an open source suite for developing a new decision support system.
Many organizations, both public and private, are currently deploying open source BI solutions that respond to the name of JasperSoft, Pentaho or SpagoBI suites, which make available a wide range of features, functions dall'Etl ad hoc analysis and reporting.
Spago BI also has the advantage of being an Italian product, developed and supported by Engineering, a large national system integrators.

Gartner, one of the leading analyst firm, in the BI Magic Quadrant Report positions JasperSoft and, in particular, Pentaho, among the companies that offer the best level of support than is offered by traditional vendors operating in the BI.
This does not mean that open solutions are directly comparable to the proprietary suite of IBM Cognos, Business Objects, SAP, Microsoft, Oracle and SAS.
these still retain an advantage in that proposal have a richer and more advanced than the open source solutions.
However, as stated by Gartner, "while the traditional vendors can still boast a prominent position offer complex technology, the adoption of open source increases because it is considered good enough. " For these reasons, Gartner believes that the open source market to continue to experience a rapid growth in adoption and five-fold increase in volume within a couple of years.

I think this is another point in favor of FLOSS that can continue to head up its growth.