dhis2-users team mailing list archive

[Mark Spohr <mhspohr@xxxxxxxxx>]

This discussion has prompted me to put together a blog post about the cost
of free software.
I've been meaning to do this for some time but Joel's rant was just so far
off the mark that I felt it needed a response.

http://healthdevinfo.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-cost-of-free-software.html

Enjoy!

Kind regards,
Mark


On Fri, May 31, 2013 at 6:06 AM, Marcio Thome <mthome@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Hi everybody
>
> Yes, the debate is quite interesting but I guess it traces back to a basic
> divide line: information systems are not equal to information systems
> software. Period. It was already discussed in DHIS2 users forum. I would
> focus the discussion about software alternatives in terms of costs for the
> same functionalities. Are any candidates out there to compete with DHIS2? I
> doubt very much. I am new to DHIS2 but with over 30 yrs experience
> implementing HIS in Latin America and Africa using all sorts of databases
> and canned software. Mistakes in choosing the right software and associated
> costs can be detrimental to public health! And Bob is right about
> quantitative and qualitative differences in custodianship of public/NGO
> databases in health versus private sector.
>
> A recent example on cost savings
> illustrates my point
> : first users training to upscale DHIS2 in Brazil (NGO sector) starts next
> Monday. Developing forms, setting up the server, getting basic reports and
> charts, translating the end-users manual and 80% of screens to Brazilian
> Portuguese took about two months for a team of three. Active and free
> technical support was provided by DHIS2 community. The only costs incurred
> were recurrent information systems costs I would have to pay anyway. But
> excuse me if I am missing the point of this whole debate…J
>
>  Cheers!
>
>
>   Marcio
>
>
> 2013/5/31 Saptarshi Purkayastha <sunbiz@xxxxxxxxx>
>
>> This might be pointing to a larger debate I feel:
>>
>> About Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)  Vs Software deployment. Enough has
>> been said by Salesforce on pricing benefits, and is a similar argument by
>> Google docs against Microsoft Office. That DHIS2 is not available as SaaS
>> could be critiqued by some, but freedom is one obvious argument against
>> SaaS.
>> Richard Stallman, in my opinion correctly pointed out that freedom is
>> compromised through such SaaS -
>> http://bostonreview.net/BR35.2/stallman.php
>>
>> We should do a TCO exercise, since we are the largest implementers of
>> DHIS2. But anyone who wants to start a SaaS with DHIS2, should be the
>> people really doing it. That would be good exercise to determine per-user
>> cost of providing such a service.
>>
>> PS: I think this is useful to discuss on the users list, hence sending
>> there...
>>
>> ---
>> Regards,
>> Saptarshi PURKAYASTHA
>>
>> My Tech Blog:  http://sunnytalkstech.blogspot.com
>> You Live by CHOICE, Not by CHANCE
>>
>>
>> On 31 May 2013 10:39, Johan Sæbø <johansa@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>> Interesting, and we should work on the wording on our website.
>>>
>>> However, I read his point as nothing is really free, except magpi. In
>>> his comparison with DHIS2 though, he's comparing apples and oranges. He
>>> also fails to mention that you have to pay per reported form, and for extra
>>> functionality. Not that he doesn't have a point about DHIS2, but he's
>>> comparison is quite unfair.
>>>
>>> https://datadyne.zendesk.com/**entries/21093588-Cost-of-**
>>> Magpi-formerly-EpiSurveyor-<https://datadyne.zendesk.com/entries/21093588-Cost-of-Magpi-formerly-EpiSurveyor->
>>>
>>> Johan
>>>
>>>
>>> On 31.05.2013 09:54, Ola Hodne Titlestad wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> Here is an interesting blog post on the cost of DHIS 2, and Free and
>>>> Open Source Software in general:
>>>>
>>>> http://www.datadyne.org/2013/**05/global-dev-where-free-**
>>>> means-expensive/<http://www.datadyne.org/2013/05/global-dev-where-free-means-expensive/>
>>>>
>>>> Not sure where he got the idea that a national, or any, HIS
>>>> implementation can be free from, but I guess he has a point that it is
>>>> important to be clear on what part is free.
>>>> We can definitely be better at providing guidance on the
>>>> implementation costing, although I don't think we have been trying to
>>>> hide the fact that training thousands of users can be expensive.
>>>>
>>>> The freedom aspect of free software is of course not mentioned in his
>>>> blog at all....
>>>>
>>>> Ola
>>>> ------
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------**----
>>>> Ola Hodne Titlestad (Mr)
>>>> HISP
>>>> Department of Informatics
>>>> University of Oslo
>>>>
>>>> Mobile: +47 48069736
>>>> Home address: Eftasåsen 68, 0687 Oslo, Norway. Googlemaps link
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> Márcio Thomé
>
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Mark Spohr, MD
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