What is Open Source Scheduling Software? "Open source" software is a term for software grants everyone access to the software’s programming code. With this type of software the source code is not hidden or encrypted. Though purchasing open source software might seem like an obvious choice over software that is not modifiable, some significant disadvantages of such applications often stop businesses from implementing it.

One main problem is that open source systems are generally less substantive than the competition. In short, open source scheduling software usually has less functionality initially. Many open source providers assume that the purchaser will add functionality. But, even more problematic, is that if someone makes a changes to the code it becomes very difficult to upgrade the software as technology progresses. Some open source software vendors don't even provide continuous upgrades!

Most scheduling software vendors have a sales model that relies on selling the same “out-of-the-box” software to hundreds or thousands of customers. This means that, theoretically, that they system should be perfect without modifications. Since smaller companies rarely have robust IT departments, this approach makes sense. But most small or mid-sized organizations, like their larger counterparts, require or desire the ability to modify an scheduling system to fit their unique situation.

So in spite of the problems, businesses are turning to open source scheduling software because it offers the neccessary flexibility at an affordable price. Th option that makes the most sense, but is less publicized, is a configurable software. Configurable applications are flexible without the high cost of a custom system. In addition, a tailored system is upgradeable and starts with a pre-existing structure to expedite implementation. Tailored systems are a hybrid of open source, custom software, and "out-of-the-box" or generic systems. The best tailored software is an open source without the disadvantages of with open source. Above and beyond open source, tailored software includes programmers and systems analysts who set up the initial system based on each company's requirements. Competitively priced, configured software is the best choice for a scheduling package since scheduling software is intrinsically tied to each business's processes.