A robust team

The firm boasts of a strong army of 28 open source developers and architects. “We normally take on people from the campus based on their aptitude and analytical skill sets. We also check their interest in OSS as most of our current development is based on open source platforms. We then put them through an initial self-learning training period on various platforms, in which seniors from the team provide guidance on various solution offerings,” adds Balaranjith.

Balaranjith says it is very important to have a competent IT team that has the motivation and aptitude to go the open source way. “Open source is not about saving money without software licences, but also about flexibility, scalability and the agility of your IT solutions. A robust team of IT professionals that has the passion to learn the finer nuances of FOSS can make a firm excel. Today, almost every new technology introduced has an open source flavour to it. So catch the bus before it is too late,” he signs off.

The case study of Atul Limited bears testament to the fact that FOSS can be a great weapon in the arsenal of any successful firm.