Given that any ERP software would need extensive customization (for example, for interacting with Galenicum’s customs management and logistics partners), commercial software offered no advantage, he says. That’s not music to the ears of SAP, but B¿chen’s not alone.

Retail distribution firm Frilac chose Openbravo to ensure control over the ERP system’s capabilities when it decided to replace its hodgepodge of disconnected back-office applications with a unified ERP suite. “An open-source software system meant we were in full control—with customizations suited to us, the software adapted to our particular needs and with no restrictions from the product manufacturer,” says Carlos Villanueva, Frilac’s sales director.

Flexible Support System

Mid-market CIOs also have to be realistic about support options—and the need to not only manage costs but also keep a few exit doors open in case of trouble. An aspect of open source that attracted these open-source ERP adopters was flexibility with who could support their development and maintenance needs.

“It’s easy to switch if one consultant doesn’t work out,” B¿chen says. “We could easily change suppliers if we were unhappy with the service,” echoes Villanueva. “I’m not tied to any proprietary vendor who tells me what I can do,” says Rosa.

Because smaller businesses usually have small IT staffs—sometimes just a few developers and a few network and desktop support staff—they’re used to working with IT consultants who specialize in their industry. That makes it easy to adopt open-source software, since smaller companies can often turn to the same independent consultancies that support their other software.

That was the case at Vertex, whose preferred consultant recommended the use of open-source software. Or they can turn to the commercial arm of the open-source project to customize their deployments, ensuring that the development team intimately knows the software. That’s the approach taken by Galenicum. But even in this case, familiarity with the consultant played a role: Because Openbravo and Galenicum are both Spanish companies, “we knew them,” B¿chen recalls.

“The reality is that the people who do all the work [in ERP deployments] are in-house teams or system integrators, not the commercial software vendors,” says Martin Schneider, senior analyst for enterprise software at The 451 Group market research firm. “The availability of open source points out that disconnect in the value chain,” he says. “It’s almost a miracle that SAP got as big as it did; they’re just selling a skeleton.”

However, anyone relying on open-source software should understand what kind of support mechanism is actually available, says Peter Bohnert, a principal at TDS (the integrator Alperin used). For example, some projects (such as Compiere and Openbravo) have a services division, while others (such as Apache Open For Business) do not. All have independent consultants who offer support as well.