Switching from Microsoft to Open Source

So, the Fellowship Church developed a web presence using Microsoft tools - but after 3 years are now moving to open source.

They had originally built using a suite of Microsoft developer tools, such as ASP.NET, using MSDN C#, IIS, and SQL Server - but are now developing their online platform using Linux, PHP, PostgreSQL and Apache.

It’s very interesting to note the reasons for the change, not least because they direct no venom against Microsoft - they simply provide an excellent list of constructive criticism comparing the different platforms, which I’ll edit to bare essentials:

1. Developers

Too much specialisation among .NET developers, with few able to work across different overall areas - as opposed to open source users used to having to manage projects in small teams, requiring greater flexibility and skills development

2. Complexity and speed of development

Microsoft tools as overly complex, whilst open source tools can offer faster solutions without being so time-consuming.

3. Cost

Microsoft offers charitable licences, but even still there remain significant overheads.

4. Get it running/keep it running

Microsoft products repeatedly fail for no apparent reason, with Windows servers requiring continual booting before code starts to fail - whereas Linux with Apache is far more stable.

5. Security/viruses

Linux is simply much more secure; Windows products remain constantly vulnerable.

6. Platform independence

Open source tools are a lot happier to work with different applications from different operating systems. But Microsoft only works with Microsoft.

7. Community

There is a far more accessible developer support base online for open source tools and software development.

8. Examples

When looking for inspiration and developer trends and routes to follow from other sites, they were invariably built from open source tools, with only a minority using Windows.

9. Browsers

The falling user share of Internet Explorer in the face of FireFox and Opera makes designing for IE-specific environments a no-go area. Accessibility is the key now.

10. The new guy

Simply put, the new staff they got for development work was experienced and able to bring their online presence forward in an open source environment.