I have been working on a project, a rather big project with a couple of friends turned business partners, and it has been a most challenging task. It is actually a start up, the product is an Information Technology Product and it is revolutionary in every single sense of the word. Infact, I like to think of it as a D.R.E.A.M. come true for the niche it is targeted at. That is enough of a primer... I am not letting any information out till its release date!
Anyway, I am faced with the task of formulating a functional business implementation model that is practical, cost and time efficient, and sustainable for the massive growth we anticipate. This has brought me face to face with the Open Source VS Proprietary Software battle in a more personal way than ever. While before the choice was merely restricted to whether I wanted to install a pirated version of windows xp or collect nucco's copy of ubuntu 5.0, now it is about choosing what technology to use which will enable the enterprise function in the ways listed above. Pick MSSQL or use MySQL, use Linux or Windows, use VB or C+, IIS or Apache, Exchange Server or Sendmail, ASPX or PHP. It makes me want to scream... STOP!
I have a large heart for analysis and comparison of methods and means, however, even the simplest of decisions can become devious without clearly defined benchmarks; call it a definition of requirements.
The debate can continue all day and all night, but the point is that different technologies have their upsides and downsides. Asides that, it is well known that the best option is not the easiest option, and the most common option is not always the most effective option etc If your desire is to muddle a decision with such considerations, you are definitely going to achieve that.
What proves to be the best option is to create a set of basic features that whatever system you want to achieve must have, and then choosing which system best meets those goals. Simple huh?
Wrong! What happens when you already have a predisposition to a particular system. Do you scrap all that you have built and start from the scratch, or do you attempt to make your existing system meet your requirements? If the latter is your choice, how does it affect long term development of your product or strategy. Will you be saddled with the weight of backward compatibility? What will be the effect of a radical change to the system you want to implement, peradventure you come to crossroads and you must change your foundation rules or system. These are important questions to consider when you find yourself at such a cross road. How do you create a sustainable frame work that can be independent of the choice of technology? Or is that sustainable framework inextricable from the choice of technology?
Well, I have made a decision on how to go about this challenge. I can only hope that I made the right one.

Blogged with the Flock BrowserTags: opensource, technology, mssql, mysql, start up business, making decisions