Why is there a growing need for open source accounting software?
In a 2002 CIO survey with 375 information executives, 54 percent said that open source would be their dominant server platform within five years (Oppenheim). Additionally, 62 percent of respondents said “they would be more inclined to select an open-source solution versus a proprietary solution” because of lower long-term costs, flexibility, easier customization, and no ties to one vendor (Ware). It is estimated that by 2008, formal open source acquisition and management strategies will be a part of 95 percent of Global 2000 organizations (Oppenheim). Open source software is becoming more popular because with commercial software, users cannot change anything about that product or make improvements to it (Oppenheim). Because open source software uses technical collaboration, errors, bugs, and other difficulties can be detected, and new features can continuously be added (Oppenheim). There is a growing need for flexibility, especially in the accounting aspects of business. Problems with
