Remember Madge, the manicurist who used Palmolive as a moisturizer? I think many within academic environments are shocked when they find out how dependent their operations are on open source tools, just as Madge's clients where when they found out that they where soaking in dish soap. The analogy works because an expert found a tool that works, and the client shouldn't care as long as the requirements are met and the outcomes are acceptable, but I've seen the same reaction from administrators as that displayed by Madge's clients, shock, fear and pullback.
It's obvious that technology is playing a greater and greater role throughout the campus. Many traditional business practices are being supported or even replaced by “technology.” There are the obvious examples; how many memos make up inner-office communications versus email, how much teaching and learning is now delivered with learning management systems, how many students enroll and register with student information services on-line, etc. These, as I said, are the obvious ones. However on my desk right now I have software proposals for less obvious systems; a housing management system that allows students to select rooms, roommates, meal plans, etc. submitted by Residence Life, an alumni analytics package that provides the Alumni Office with prospective contributors, veterinary management software for our Vet. Tech. program to help manage the care of the department's animals, a fuel management system requested by campus Facilitiesfor dispensing and monitoring fuel, a SoIP, or security over IP, application for the University Police, and many others. To support these systems, I may deploy them on various open source tools within my department, Campus Information Systems. Do the deans, directors and decision-makers know this? Would the fact that we may use the Linux version vs. the Windows version affect their decision making in identifying the right “solution” for their business case? Let's really add some complexity, what if we installed the Windows version on a virtual server? Who makes these decisions regarding the use of open source?
I think one of the often overlooked parts of open source adoption, even ridiculed, by those in technology who have accepted OSS, is governance: not pertaining to an open source project, but rather the campus' or institution's management of “enterprise” systems and services. As institutions begin to explore open source projects and the communities which support them, they are likely to experience push-back from those new, unfamiliar, concerned, reluctant or even opposed to “not the products' functionality, features or usability” but open source software itself. While concern may have come from technologists in the past, today, in my experience, resistance comes from the departments IT supports. Many working within IT are quick to write off those who “don't get it” and simply continue working with OSS without the official blessing of their institution, confident that their activities will inevitably become operational as more and more users come on line (sort of a bottom-up, or under-the-radar approach) with departments eventually adopting the ubiquitous system(s).
This approach to IT governance is based on how open source tools have traditionally been deployed within the campus' computing environment, and could be called the “stack approach.” This is based on the growth open source software has seen within the campus data center, “low in the software stack,” focused on operating systems, server software, development tools, databases, etc. As campuses become more familiar and comfortable with (dependent on?) OSS in these utilities, presumably, the door will open for systems such as email, content/learning management, business and finance, even fuel management systems: those services deemed mission critical by campus decision makers as “enterprise applications.”
And in fact, OSS has enjoyed significant adoption on campuses within the data center, the paradox is, few know it . . .especially those within the campus' administration. As an academic CIO, I cannot recall many conversations I have had with my peers (other CIO's, CTO's, Directors of IT) or colleagues (Provosts, Deans, Administrative Directors) regarding utilities running low on the software stack such as server operating systems (Linux, Unix, Windows) web servers (Apache, IIS, iPlanet, SunOne, Zues, etc.), application servers (BEA, OAS, Tomcat, etc.), mail servers (Exchange, Postfix, SendMail, SquirrelMail, etc.), programming languages (Java, .NET, Perl, PHP, etc.) or, Integrated Development Environments (Eclipse, JDeveloper, WebShere, etc.). These are considered operational by my peers and insignificant by my colleagues. Interestingly, I have had countless debates regarding; desktop operating systems (Linux flavors, Macs and Windows), email clients (Domino Mail, Eudora, Outlook, etc.), Learning Management Systems (Angel, Blackboard, Moodle, Sakai, WebCT, etc.), Student Information Systems (Banner, Datatel, Kuali, PeopleSoft, etc.) and other “ERP” systems with, not my peers, but with my colleagues. CIO's see these applications” and the decision to use them” within the realm of the campus departments, and so do the Provosts, Deans, Directors of HR, Finance, Enrollment, Alumni, etc. The now tired arguments that may have prompted technology folks to investigate open source - code quality, security, integration, customization, support, etc. - simply may not be applicable, important or even understood by those in other campus business units assessing their software needs against specific business operations, because these tools (and the values of OSS) operate behind the scenery. I would imagine that those reading this, care more about the content and discussion that may result within the forum, than the fact that it is presented with WordPress hosted on AIX and delivered via Apache.
In 2006 I presented findings on the deployment, and the opinions of administrators, of OSS within The State University of New York's 64 campuses. The statistics, provided by Netcraft 1 , identified which operating systems and server software where deployed on the SUNY campuses' publicly accessible servers including email, ftp, media, web and others: all of which could be considered “low on the software stack.” The results indicated that while SUNY deployments of OSS was generally lower than global deployments (again provided by Netcraft), it was growing within the campuses' data centers. For example, specifically to web server software, global deployment of Apache peaked at 70% with SUNY at 63% in 2005. SUNY also saw steady growth in Linux distributions running on various server types, rising from 7% in 2000 to 27% in 2006. However, these “adoption rates” measured applications transparent to end-users: web-server software and the operating systems they ride on. How many of the folks governing online education and debating Moodle are also debating the LAMP stack?
The insignificance of OSS adoption within the data center as an influence on more visible applications became evident to me when, as part of my research, I surveyed campus administrators. Respondents came from a variety of fields, including technology providers (CIO's, IT staff, etc.) and end-users (faculty, non-IT administrators, etc.), and a clear division was evident. Open source software appeared to be a credible option within the data center for technical services but apparently not for systems that end-users touched. One respondent attested, “[my campus] seldom if ever adopts open source software.” However the figures provided by Netcraft indicated that all of that campus' servers ran Linux and 23 of the 27 servers ran Apache. In fact, they where “soaking in it.”
This raises an interesting issue: how aware are campus administrators, who may be working with commercial providers such as SunGard's Banner student information system and their portal Luminis, that they are actually relying on OSS? Is the confidence derived from a commercial provider (SunGard) diminished by the fact that Luminis is built upon an open source project, uPortal? Or availability for the entire suite of student services may be dependent on OSS within the campus data center? If so, shouldn't Student Affairs, Enrollment, Finance, The Alumni Foundation, etc. be part of the governance (decision-making) for their complete “solution” from the SIS all the way down the software stack, and not just those applications they work directly with? Unless they are, the “stack approach” plays no part in the adoption of open source on campuses.
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