As it is developed by a nonprofit community, it has some disadvantages as well. The paper presents a general recap of how open source ideals have entered different areas of the federal government, as well as many portions of the corporate world. Since many employees can perform their jobs outside of the office or even remotely these days, many companies are taking advantage of the benefits of telecommuting. Were long past the days of handwringing that open source will infect proprietary code, and its also increasingly clear that open. If you subscribe to an open source ethos, definitely check out. Open source software has numerous advantages from flexibility and scalability to lower costs, but does it beat proprietary alternatives. Opm consults with tmos to establish evidence of such outcomes through evaluations.
Gartner forecasts that open source technology will be included in 85% of all commercial software packages by 2015 and 95% of mainstream it organizations will leverage some element of oss. If you give your employees the freedom to work from home, you can enjoy the benefits of telecommuting for companies from this decision. In a 2014 study by pgi, a leading provider of software services, it found. Telecommuting decreases expensive overhead, such as office space, office supplies, office furniture, lights and heat which in turn brings financial savings. However, you have to realize that using open source software is not all milk and honey. This can include program modules to increase functionality, code snippets and routines to tweak performance or to perform specific functions, and the opportunity. Telecommuting helps reduce operating costs, cash in on the appeal factor and boost your bottom line.
The benefits of open source is tremendous and has gained huge popularity in the field of it in recent years. Free, open source software may be a costeffective alternative on the front end of an application development project, but youve got to factor in the costs of the ongoing maintenance and. Flexible hours allow teleworkers to run errands or schedule appointments without losing a full day. Look for led backlights and full high definition resolution like the hp 24uh display. Many open source projects were originally created because the developers themselves needed a solution for their own use, and. Lowcost 3tb highspeed hard drives like the buffalo drivestation can help.
Launching a carefullyplanned telecommuting program can deliver employees a number of benefits. Apply to copy editor, billing representative, care coordinator and more. According to aetna, an insurance giant in america, it shed 2. No matter what size business you run, keeping costs to a minimum is. Before you jump into the bandwagon and download the products youve been eyeing on, do your homework and find out if open source software is worth your while.
But the benefits of telecommuting and other flexible work options make it clear they fit that bill. Now, with little more than a notebook, some open source tools, and a text editor, a developer can build great software. Telecommuting pros and cons from the perspective of employers. If your employer pays for your computer andor software, how much does that cost exceed what it would be if you were not telecommuting. Department of accounting and information systems california state university, northridge united states of america abstract telecommuting as an alternative to conventional arrangements by which employees perform their job functions has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. Long a point of hesitation for enterprise adoption of open source, concerns about security just arent an issue today. By allowing employees to work from home, you can save on rent, overhead and other costs related to traditional inoffice workforces. Jan 15, 20 the benefits of telecommuting open this photo in gallery. For others, cost savings or flexibility is the most important factor. That said, there are many pros and cons to consider before implementing a telecommuting option for employees. Jan 21, 2011 the tedious standard of spending 40 hours a week sitting in a cubicle is fading as employers and workers both embrace the benefits associated with telecommuting. Advantages of open source software many business owners use open source software because it has little or no upfront cost.
Telecommuting project is a solution for people and enterprises who wishes to use telecommuting for their jobs, education or any other purpose. Challenges and opportunities of teleworking for workers. Having remote employees can reduce officespace costs. Costs and benefits of homebased telecommuting semantic scholar. Unlike closed proprietary software, oss can be altered and extended by any developer familiar with the source code. If youre working in photography or design, you need lots of storage. The benefits of telecommuting open this photo in gallery. Check out the benefits of open source library and open. The majority of oss is distributed freely, making it very costeffective. The success of organizational changes requires the buyin and support of key stakeholders. This is clearly a huge benefit, especially to new businesses, but it is not the only one. Benefits of telecommuting, a company perspective surge.
Eurofound report, telework in the european union, 5 notes that it remains open to. The nature of the costs of open source and commercial software is truly different, however. This is mainly because the advantages of opensource software is that its free to use its greatest advantage. In fact, opening the talent pool seems to be one of the biggest employer benefits when it comes to a work from home policy. Benefits of telecommuting for the future of work forbes. The company is a big booster of open source, especially the apache web server software, which despite being open source, has about half the world market in web servers. A nice, big 32inch or 24inch external monitor will open up new worlds. For example, you could save a journey abroad by videoconferencing. Starting as far back as the year 2000, congress mandated that agencies should establish a policy under which eligible employees of the agency may participate in telecommuting to the maximum extent possible office of personnel management, n.
Open source by its very nature is more freeflowing and open to others, making it that much more affordable, especially when its free. Open source is an architecturally driven approach that is not linked to any vendorsupplier. More specifically, you reduce office costs by limiting space and furniture requirements, which is a good way of reducing overall costs. This is mainly because the advantages of open source software is that its free to use its greatest advantage. Telecommuting improves productivity, lowers costs, new survey. Mastering remote work is all about finding the right tools to stay productive and connected. Thin client is a way to save on energy use from pcs and data centers. The opportunities can vary from fulltime, parttime, freelance, and contract work. Telecommuting, or working from home or another place other than the regular office, is becoming more prevalent these days. By being aware of the issues and the potential benefits of flexible work options, hr professionals can help their organizations determine if telework is a viable option for their workers. What are the benefits and disadvantages of telecommuting. Now lets explore how open source software reduces development costs. Top 5 benefits of open source erp systems metasfresh erp.
Feb 27, 20 the costs and benefits of telecommuting introduction john g. In some organizations, faster development is the primary motivation for using open source software oss. At some level it should be included in managements thinking about the costs and benefits of using open source. The results of a new comptia survey on telecommuting finds that. Here are five benefits of open source which you wont find elsewhere. Each of the following open source jobs have been researched and screened by our editors.
Users inexperienced with open source products may be concerned about their security. Other software solutions, like gotomeeting or webex, make setting up and even. The protection of confidential data is of the utmost importance. Apr 14, 2015 telecommuting has made the news a lot in recent years. The tedious standard of spending 40 hours a week sitting in a cubicle is fading as employers and workers both embrace the benefits associated with telecommuting. Technology has enabled this growing trend, and more and more companies are taking advantage of it. Benefits, challenges and disadvantages of telework in icts and. As more companies adopt telecommuting practices, the benefits are very clear. For years now, researchers and businesses have noted the numerous and immediate benefits of telecommuting including decreased commuting costs and time, increased productivity and reduction in overhead and energy costs. How open source costs differ from commercial software. Costbenefit input page for homebased telework and telecommuting.
With numerous benefits, many companies are now supporting their employees to work online from home remotely. Teleworkers need access to company systems, software, and data. Nearly six out of ten employers identify cost savings as a significant benefit to telecommuting. Opm encourages agencies to leverage existing data sources when finding evidence of benefits, because they are accessible and cost effective. Lets explore issues of agility, cost, security, and more. May 14, 2019 telecommuting, or working from home or another place other than the regular office, is becoming more prevalent these days. Alpine access remote agents close 30% more sales than traditional agents the year before. The costs and benefits of telecommuting room for debate. Tyson enlists predictive software to keep meat plants open amid. Apr 01, 2009 the united states congress has been actively involved in promoting telecommuting throughout the government. Jan 17, 2020 learn about open source software including databases, operating systems, containers, and middleware as well as open source tools for analytics, virtualization, and development in technology blogs written by the open source experts at openlogic. In addition to saving on procurement costs, thin client adopts cloud servers and data center computing.
But what exactly are the benefits and drawbacks of telecommuting, and what ethical issues does it. Starting as far back as the year 2000, congress mandated that agencies should establish a policy under which eligible employees of the agency may participate in telecommuting to the maximum extent possible office of personnel. Open source is the future, but it will cost you more than. In telecommuting, the best software should be able to. However, if you are managing telecommuters your options are quite limited. There are many reasons for companies to use open source solutions involving the cloud. In the explanatory video, below, 1 million for work flexibility outlines several of the benefits to both employees and employers of ensuring flexibility is part of a companys culture. Advantages of open source software compared to paid equivalents. If you pay for all or part of your computer equipment andor software, how much of that cost is strictly telecommuting related.
A study by the consumer electronics association found 37 percent of employed adults in the u. Nov 18, 2016 but open source software is fueled by a variety of economic models. If you dont currently have a telecommuting policy in place, or if you need help managing remote employees, this article can help you realize the benefits as well. State and federal government entities are also beginning to recognize the benefits of telecommuting and are passing measures to promote telework programs, such as the federal 2001 transportation appropriations bill, which requires federal agencies to allow all eligible employees whose jobs lend themselves to telecommuting and who would like to telework to. Open source developers choose to make the source code of their software publicly available for the good of the community and to publish their software with an open source license meaning that other developers can see how it works and add to it. Employers, however, can overcome this perception by keeping the lines of communication strong and open while ensuring employees are given the opportunities to prove themselves. There can be many benefits with telecommuting but some of the common ones are. Cloudtweaks advantages and disadvantages of open source. University of virginia, drafting a telecommuting plan security issues. Benefits of telecommuting, a company perspective surge forward.
There are a lot of work trackers if you need a software to track attendance in an office environment. There is a wide range of employees, supervisors, and managers who could make use of telecommuting. One of the obvious ones that is a clear motivating factor is the cost, or lack thereof. Open source is a risk, but not in the way you might think. The extra space can be used for other organizational purposes. All employees, including those telecommuting, are expected to comply with applicable policies, including gws information security policy pdf. This year, ibm worked out an agreement with sugarcrm, an open source crm product that will run quite nicely in the ibm environment. Robert half survey of more than 2,800 workers in the united states. Today open code can be the basis for some operating systems, applications, libraries, databases, cloud computing, big data etc. Using free, opensource software in local governments. Open source software in simple terms is free software that you can use in your business. The united states congress has been actively involved in promoting telecommuting throughout the government. The costs and benefits of telecommuting introduction john g.
The ballooning costs of commuting and growing traffic congestion show the time is ripe for employers to commit to offering expanded telecommuting and flexible work options, according to. The costs of evaluating open source can be considered part of the roi analysis, so it might not be included in the roi equation, but it does take time, more time generally than for commercial software. The open exchange of information is fundamental to open source projects and allows them to be more costeffective, flexible, and secure. The benefits also extend to his bottom line, telecommuting saves me money because they pay for their own computer, electricity and other utilities. Gone are the days of needing a companys often vast resources to accomplish ones work tasks. Devops machine learning open source software development. According to the telework savings calculator, the economic benefit to u. Oct 16, 2012 in a telecommuting environment, everyone works on a byot bring your own technology status, which suits most people just fine.
In addition to the source code of the core software, open source erp systems also give their users ready access to the often vast resources of their user and development communities. During the last 5 years, the utilization of the open source software has doubled and became a global trend. Open source software will often show up in the top results, but rather than being a free alternative, this offers advantages commercial software cannot. In a telecommuting environment, everyone works on a byot bring your own technology status, which suits most people just fine. We also cover organizational culture and support that may shape the telecommuting experience, after which we discuss the community and societal effects of telecommuting, including its effects on traffic and emissions, business continuity, and work opportunities, as well as the potential impact on societal ties. Flexible work arrangements human resource management and. State and federal government entities are also beginning to recognize the benefits of telecommuting and are passing measures to promote telework programs, such as the federal 2001 transportation appropriations bill, which requires federal agencies to allow all eligible employees whose jobs lend themselves to telecommuting and who would like to telework to do so. Open source software has numerous benefits over proprietary alternatives, from costs to quality, here are the advantages of adopting open source in the enterprise.
1078 117 190 557 1371 69 1356 214 1151 1346 309 1324 330 1500 163 959 956 549 1493 694 59 230 275 978 1434 120 657 969 1245 487 1399 555 37 897 242 1169 429 234 1047 735 660 150 388 681 1320 305