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By Jack M. Germain LinuxInsider 11/05/13 5:00 AM PT

The more mission-critical the open source software, the more necessary it is to acquire paid support, suggested SUSE's Gerald Pfeifer. "Individual users will often tough out solving problems through community help forums, but SMB owners and enterprise users more likely will opt for paid support rather than devoting internal resources to support open source software," he added.

One of the big attractions behind the growing popularity of open source software is the ability to get it and use it for free. In a world of ever-rising costs in pretty much every other aspect of business and life, "free" is an offer that's increasingly difficult to refuse.

Support is one area, however, where "free" may not be all it seems -- particularly for enterprises.

Users of free software typically rely on the generally sizable community of users and developers for help if questions arise. That support can be excellent, and many users swear by it. At the enterprise level, however, it's worth considering more closely -- particularly when many users are involved and the software is mission-critical.

In addition to offering their software for free, most of the big enterprise Linux operating systems and numerous popular applications give users a choice of paying for support from the developers themselves. In some cases, a software developer may even sell a more feature-rich commercial version.

So when does it make sense to spend the extra money? There's no one formula to provide an answer to that common question, but numerous key factors can help you decide.

One potential variable in relying on free community support is the character of the community. Just as open source version options are different, so are open source communities.

"Open source communities can be like a box of chocolates in that the flavors are not always what you expect them to be," Gerald Pfeifer, senior director for product management and operations at SUSE, told LinuxInsider.

An enterprise's own in-house staff, of course, will also play a key role.

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FOSS in the Enterprise: To Pay or Not to Pay?

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

PointClear Solutions, a leading healthcare software development firm, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Worry Free Labs, a high-end mobile app UX design and development firm based in New York. PointClear will leverage Worry Free Labs deep consumer application expertise and capabilities to design and build patient engagement applications for the mHealth market.

As the industry shifts to value-based care, patients are becoming managers of their own healthcare. Providers and payers are placing greater emphasis on equipping their patients with the appropriate tools for taking this active role. Mobile technology helps healthcare organizations enhance their patient engagement efforts with applications that patients can use to monitor their health. In fact, according to a 2013 report by Research and Markets, the mobile health application market is expected to grow to $26 billion by 2017.

Given the rise of mHealth technology and the increasing importance of patient engagement, we wanted to broaden our design and development offering to include patient-facing applications, said David Karabinos, CEO of PointClear. With the acquisition of Worry Free Labs, we have strengthened our portfolio with consumer-focused solutions and positioned ourselves to drive greater value for our clients.

By joining forces, PointClear and Worry Free Labs now offer the most robust and in-depth set of user experience and user interface capabilities on the East coast. Additionally, both companies expand their geographic footprint to a broader national presence with a strong emphasis in the Southeast, Northeast and Western regions of the U.S.

Through this strategic combination, we are able to further enhance our capabilities and leverage PointClears backend software and technology development expertise to build more advanced enterprise solutions for our customers, said Paul Choi, CEO of Worry Free Labs. We look forward to working together to create superior products and technologies for our clients, including those in the attractive mHealth sector that foster patient engagement and improved care delivery.

Under terms of the acquisition, Worry Free Labs will operate as a subsidiary of PointClear Solutions. It will continue to be led by Paul Choi and will service and grow its client base across select industries.

To read what customers and industry influencers are saying about the acquisition and the future of the mHealth industry, please click here.

About Worry Free Labs

Worry Free Labs is a New York-based mobile user experience design and development firm. It partners with its clients to build innovative and compelling products, including mobile and web apps that delight and bring lasting value to users. Worry Free Labs focus points are Mobile Strategy, User Experience Strategy & Design, User Interface Design, Branding and iOS & Android Engineering. For more information, visit http://www.worryfreelabs.com or call 646.741.5006.

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PointClear Solutions Acquires Worry Free Labs to Meet Demands of Growing mHealth Market

CHICAGO (CBS) Specialized computer software designed to help parents protect their children on the internet is being offered free of charge to families by the Cook County States Attorneys Office.

The software, called ComputerCop, provides a quick and easy way for parents to review what their children are doing while using the internet and to assess if kids are being exposed to inappropriate or harmful content.

As the number of children who use technology continues to soar, the need for education and the commitment to the protection of children who are exposed to online predators must also increase, said Cook County States Attorney Anita Alvarez.

It is imperative that we take proactive steps to educate and raise awareness about the dangers that loom and we invite parents to take advantage of this important tool.

The free software can be requested through the States Attorneys website at statesattorney.org, where parents can fill complete a simple online order form.

ComputerCop contains a database of 2,000 red flagged words associated with pornography, drugs, violence, hate crimes, and gambling. The program can find items that have been deleted and also has a delete function of its own so that objectionable material can be eliminated instantly. The software was developed with the help of several law enforcement agencies including the F.B.I.

The database has been distributed by over 200 law enforcement agencies throughout the country.

The Cook County States Attorneys Office administers the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which investigates and prosecutes criminal acts such as child pornography, sexual solicitation of a child or missing child investigations. The task force also offers guidance and information for parents and educators on internet safety.

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State’s Attorney Offering Free Internet Monitoring Software For Parents

RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Software AG plans to introduce the four forces of big data, social, cloud and mobile computing to colleges and universities through its enhanced University Relations program. The new program is aimed at students, professors and other faculty members in business management and information technology departments. Online communities will enable students and faculty not only to access Software AG products, but also to engage with specialists from companies and user groups.

Jrgen Powik, director of University Relations at Software AG, explains, Providing a solid, market-oriented education to future managers is key to our ability to innovate. Software AG therefore invests in close collaboration with institutions of higher learning. The education packages for the four forcesbig data, cloud, social and mobileinclude free software, e-learning and video materials for students self-guided study as well as materials for teaching staff. By way of a market-based scenario, students delve into concrete applications of the products. The big data education package, for example, includes 50 million data records.

Powik expects 100 departments worldwide to take advantage of Software AGs new offering in 2014, which means that 1,500 students will be trained in the specialized field of the four megatrends next year alone. This brings Software AG significantly closer to its goal of establishing innovative technology know-how at the university level to prepare IT professionals and entrepreneurs for the future.

Colleges and universities can continue employing Software AGs software in other scenarios and for academic or research projects for free. This not only ensures the independence of academia and research, but also that institutions of higher learning tap and promotes their innovation potential.

The program also features other services, which have been available and readily utilized for several years now; for example, guest lectures by Software AG specialists about the company and its products. These specialists serve as first points of contact for students and faculty. Students can glean personal insight to Germanys second-largest software company during visits to Software AG, internships and work-study programs. Furthermore, Software AG provides individual support to students in completing research projects and theses through the availability of software and infrastructure. After finishing college, young professionals and entrepreneurs can also depend on finding a strong partner in Software AG.

About Software AG

Software AG (SOW.F) helps organizations achieve their business objectives faster. The company's big data, integration and business process technologies enable customers to drive operational efficiency, modernize their systems and optimize processes for smarter decisions and better service. Building on over 40 years of customer-centric innovation, the company is ranked as a leader in 15 market categories, fueled by core product families Adabas and Natural, ARIS, Terracotta, webMethods and also Alfabet and Apama. Software AG has ca. 5,300 employees in 70 countries and had revenues of 1.05 billion in 2012. Learn more atwww.softwareag.com.

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Detailed press information about Software AG, including a picture and multimedia database is available at: http://www.softwareag.com/us/press

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Software AG Invests in New University Relations Program

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