In Pictures: 20 surefire IT mistakes

3. Missing the mark on open source

Many IT shops are susceptible to “religious” behavior -- a blind, unyielding devotion to a particular technology or platform. Nowhere is that more true than with open source. On the one hand, the most conservative IT shops dismiss open source as a matter of policy. That’s a big mistake: Taking an indefinite wait-and-see attitude toward open source means passing up proven, stable, and scalable low-cost solutions. On the other hand, insisting on open source purity in your IT operation can delay progress, as developers are forced to cobble together solutions when more appropriate commercial software solutions may already exist. It all depends on the problem to be solved and the maturity of the solutions being considered.