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In the stranglehold of…? Watch the small print – the conditions!

Sign here please!

If you want to get out of the stranglehold of the commercial software license models by switching to open source software, make sure you don’t make the same mistake again, this time with supposedly open source software based on subscriptions.

Open source software is increasingly seen as commonplace within organizations. It provides freedom and agility in combination with equal functionality and quality, and this at a considerably lower cost.

Open source software in combination with, among other things, 7×24 SLA-based technical support is offered on the basis of subscriptions. In fact, you do not purchase a license, but you have a subscription to the support and other services, because the software itself is open source. If you stop the subscription, you can continue to use the open source software (so no vendor lock-in), but you are no longer entitled to the support and possibly additional services.

There are software suppliers who play with the term “open source software” in their publications, but also when it comes to their General Terms and Conditions. It starts with the term “open source based software”. This is when alertness is recommended.

All too often, the term “open source based software” hides the fact that it is actually commercially-licensed software that is part of/all derived from open source software. So no 100% open source software and thus a good chance of a new vendor lock-in! If you stop the subscription then you are not allowed to use the software anymore, it has to be removed from your servers upon termination. At that moment you are literally empty-handed and most likely you don’t have an alternative anymore…unfortunately a vendor lock-in anyway!

Take control yourself to stay out of the stranglehold of supposed open source software. Always read the General Terms and Conditions carefully and avoid a new vendor lock-in that you wanted to solve when reducing for example the Oracle footprint.

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