Open source has become a serious contender in enterprise IT. Considering the opportunity for financial benefits along with the flexibility that comes through from the software's source code, the freedom from vendor lock-in, and the potential for improved security, reliability and performance, open source is rapidly gaining acceptance.

This report is a practical guide for understanding and calculating the financial benefits of open source. It will introduce the basics of financial analysis - concepts, processes and elements - and provide a tool to help identify and capture the costs (and potential benefits) for your project.

Whether you are an end user with a custom application, a system integrator (SI) considering an open source solutions offering, or an independent software vendor (ISV) looking at the embedding of open source in your software, this report is for you!