FOSS-software is cheap if you consider the license fee. But training costs accumulate and fees to maintain the system are high. Is FOSS still the cheaper choice?

Additionnally, not everywhere in the world, awareness for paying for a license is given. Then, using closed or FOSS-software does not make a difference concerning the costs - Is FOSS still the cheaper choice?

See the training material Block7-FLOSS Usage Models.pdf (358Ko). It definitely is! Also:

Not everywhere in the world, awareness for paying for a license is given. But awareness raises. For example Vietnam joint the WTO and license use is enforced. Who “shares” proprietary software, breaks the law and will be prosecuted! Companies had to pay several 100.000 USD because they violated the software copyright law in Vietnam. Copyright has to be kept, therefore, using FOSS, naturally, is the cheaper choice!

Besides that, economy is always changing, companies raise and fall. Imagine a company which produces closed software – and then falls into financial crisis. The company may be forced to close or stop to develop/maintain their product.

A company which uses proprietary software is in high dependence of the proprietary software producers.  When they stop maintaining their product, replacement costs might be very high. Using FOSS might be a rather “safe” choice when you think about the future: at least you have the chance to hire someone and continue the maintenance by yourself.

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