While purchasing software from an established company is the norm for people and governments alike, there are alternatives. One of those is open source software, which is the term for software developed collaboratively by individuals for free.
A recent article in Government Technology highlights the Portland, Oregon-area Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District that has switched three GIS software programs from ones they purchased to open source software. The district has hired a third-party company to provide any support with the open source software. Budgetary savings and meeting all of the district’s needs were cited as reasons for the switch.
