While open source software isn't always 100 percent free, it is much less costly to deploy than proprietary software, assuming your business can support it, and that it knows where to turn when it can't solve a problem. "You can't deny the revenue that is attached to services, and proprietary software implementation takes 15 times longer: You have to negotiate margins, SLAs, do validation, licensing and paperwork," said Alani Kuye, (left), founder of Phantom Data Systems, Norwalk, Conn. "By the time you complete all that one, two months pass. On the other hand, on Day 1 with open source, you can have a service agreement and you can get going. The time to market is much faster.

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