Open Source Software Migration Study Case

Open Source Software Migration Study Case

Abstract

This study investigates the largest transition in Finland to an open source office suite and

to an open standard for office documents. The IT environment of the open source

OpenOffice.org migration involves more than 10 000 workstations in the Finnish Ministry

of Justice and its administrative sector.

Methodologically, the research is a longitudinal innovation adoption study covering the 7-

year time span from 2003 to 2010. The study applies and tests the organizational

innovation adoption process model originally developed by Everett Rogers. In addition to

the theory-testing approach, the study includes artifact-building and artifact-evaluation

activities of design research. The research view of the study introduces a participatory

researcher's implementation perspective where the researcher as a staff member of the

organization has been in charge of the adoption of the innovation in the organization.

The findings of the study provide contributions both to IS research and practice. The

events of the study give reason to suggest that the characteristics of the open source

software with low-cost licenses call for improvements in the organizational innovation

adoption stage model. The findings suggest that the predefined order of stages in the

innovation process and sharp distinctions between stages should not be expected in

organizational innovation adoption. 

The objective of this research is to identify the factors that influence the migration of free software to proprietary software, or vice-versa. The theoretical framework was developed in light of the Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DIT) proposed by Rogers (1976, 1995), and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) proposed by Venkatesh, Morris, Davis and Davis (2003). The research was structured in two phases: the first phase was exploratory, characterized by adjustments of the revised theory to fit Brazilian reality and the identification of companies that could be the subject of investigation; and the second phase was qualitative, in which case studies were conducted at ArcelorMittal Tubarão (AMT), a private company that migrated from proprietary software (Unix) to free software (Linux), and the city government of Serra, in Espírito Santo state, a public organization that migrated from free software (OpenOffice) to proprietary (MS Office). 

This case study will describe the experiences of librarians in a small

consortium and their collaboration with the state library during the process of migration

to an open source integrated library system (ILS). Social justice is conceptualized in

terms of policies, such as the “redistribution of goods and resources to improve the

situation of the disadvantaged” (Bankston, 2010). With this understanding of social

justice—issues of resources, power balance and negotiations—will be discussed using

case study as a methodology.

Introduction

In this chapter we discuss the background and motivation for the study. The chapter begins with a section presenting the conceptual grounding to open source. This is followed with a section giving an overview of open source solutions and the role of office suite software in the desktop platform. Next, the benefits and challenges in open source adoption are discussed. The following section presents the objectives and motivation for the research. The chapter ends with a section describing the organization of the study.

Specifically in the software market, the focus of this research, there are two paradigms: free software vs. proprietary software. It is believed that the technology of free software is economically attractive due to its low cost, as well as its technological viability (Subramanyam and Xia, 2008). However, free software still faces institutional barriers that prevent its full adoption, including the arguments that there is no associated technical support and that the higher consulting service costs do not compensate for its being free (Kologlugil, 2012; Sacks, 2015). On the other hand, despite the high prices of user licenses, proprietary software is perceived as more technologically and institutionally reliable because of its broader compatibility, adherence to a standard, and available technical support (Hemphill, 2006; Benlian and Hess, 2011).

This paper presents a case study of a small academic library consortium’s interactions with its state library during the exploration and development phases of migration to the open source software integrated library system (OSS ILS) Evergreen. The paper uses the case study methodology to create boundaries for the case, describe participant-observer research methods and interactions, and

explore how the case reflects social justice issues. This case study begins with the researchers’ interactions with the small library consortium about best practices for migration, continues through these interactions, and ends with the consortium’s being absorbed into the state library migration project and no longer needing the researchers’ assistance.

Methods

This research is qualitative and based on multiple case studies. Case studies were chosen as they allow for the empirical investigation of contemporary aspects in their real-life context, and for being appropriate for the in-depth investigation of a decision or set of decisions: why they were taken, how they were implemented, and their outcome (Yin, 2010).

The research was structured in two phases: the first phase was exploratory, characterized by adjustments of the revised theory to fit Brazilian reality and the identification of companies that could be the subject of the investigation; and the second phase was qualitative, in which case studies of the selected companies were conducted.

The exploratory phase contributed to understanding the theme, to mapping the categories to be studied, and to identifying the cases to be analyzed in depth. The authors joined the discussion list for Linux, a free software, and the forum for Microsoft, a proprietary software. Additionally, they visited various discussion sites about free and proprietary software in order to interact with people who deal with both types of software, and to understand the issue in question more deeply. These interactions have enabled the authors to contact editors of magazines about the subject, such as the Linux and SoftwareLivre magazines, consultants who act as coordinators of free software user groups, and managers of two companies that sell information technology solutions for free and proprietary platforms: Polaris Informática and Acrópolis Informática.

My relevant research experience comes from being the Principal Investigator on a research grant to study open source integrated library systems. In addition to surveying and interviewing librarians interested in open source software or using open source software, my research team interacted with a small library consortium specifically to help facilitate their migration to an open source ILS.

The consortium eventually collaborated with the state library to ease migration. Power dynamics and social justice issues were apparent through our interactions with the consortium during this period. The data for this study is a combination of different forms of communication between the research team and the consortium including face-to-face participant observation, phone conversations, the archival records of emails, and the resulting impressions of the research team. Neither the consortium nor the state library will be identified to protect their privacy and confidentiality.

MIGRATION

At the clarifying stage, there are two main paths to proceed in the implementation of

the migration process. The KBSt migration guide (KBSt, 2005, p. 448) defines onestep

migration (also known as big bang) as an approach meaning rapid transition

from the old system to the new system in a short time in one step which has a defined

commencement date and a defined end date. At the extreme case, the transition can

even be implemented on the same day for all users. Phased migration or gradual

migration is the opposite of big bang meaning a transition where the target is clear

but where the time frame is defined only very generally, with the migration process

taking place in several distinctive steps. The steps can, e.g., be based on user groups

or components of the IT system. Rogers (ibid., p. 427) gives examples of

implementation problems and failures resulting from undue haste and suggests that

too rapid implementation of an innovation at the clarifying stage can lead to

disastrous results.

system was considered very high. Unix AIX required the company to invest in computers from a single manufacturer, with spacious hard drive and memory from specific vendors. These computers were based on the RISC technology provided primarily by a single company: IBM. Thus, maintenance was costly and the acquisition of new hardware required large investments, in addition to creating a large dependence on a single supplier, which was not located near the customer. Unix was used only on servers, since the workstations used the Windows operating system.

 

CASE ANALYSES

The results of both cases corroborate the idea of Mintzberg (1990) and other authors such as Li, Tan, Teo and Siow (2005), Spirov (2007), and Huysmans et al. (2008), that decision making in the migration from a particular technology standard to another, and the results achieved, are influenced by numerous organizational and informational factors, which go beyond system attributes and user requirements, and that organizational and contextual aspects of systems adoption should be taken into account. Thus, in both cases, the authors identified categories that aligned with the models and theories that study technology acceptance (Venkatesh et al., 2003), along with the dynamism and trade-off of the decision-making process highlighted by Mintzberg et al. (1976), Economides and Katsamakas (2006), Benlian and Hess (2011) and Sacks (2015).

Interviews conducted in the case study of AMT identified the three dimensions that, in accordance with UTAUT, directly and significantly determine the intention to use a given system –Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy and Social Influence– as well as Facilitating Conditions, which influence system usage behavior (Venkatesh et al., 2003).

Performance Expectancy

- Performance: found in the interview with the Infrastructure Analyst, whose demonstration of improved performance was crucial to convince senior management, in line with the Benlian and Hess (2011) and Kologlugil (2012) studies, among others.

- Cost: found at the beginning of the problem, becoming a barrier to the expansion of the computer network on IBM’s Unix AIX platform.

Effort Expectancy

- Unfamiliarity with the paradigm: a concern expressed by management given the low adoption rate of Linux and the lack of the team’s mastery of this technology. Sacks (2015) emphasized this aspect, in stating that the decision about adopting a given software does not involve only quality or price, but also the adaptability of users, who have to expend time and effort to adapt to unfamiliar software.