Is traditional, open-source, or on-demand first choice? Developing an AHP-based framework for the comparison of different software models in office suites selection

Abstract

Until recently, organizations planning to acquire application software (AS) have had no choice but to adopt proprietary, on-premises software. With the advent of open-source and on-demand solutions, new models for developing and distributing software have entered the stage providing IS managers with more options in AS selection. On the basis of an Analytic Hierarchy Process model, we propose a framework including software package and implementation attributes on different hierarchy levels to examine how IS managers evaluate the relative fulfilment of key selection criteria by traditional, open-source, and on-demand office suites. By testing the framework with a random sample of 254 IS managers of 166 smaller and 88 mid-sized/larger firms, we validate its validity and usefulness in evaluating different software delivery models. Our empirical results show that open-source office suites were consistently perceived to be superior in meeting ease of customization (i.e., extensibility and adaptability) and cost criteria (i.e., acquisition and maintenance cost), whereas traditional software models were superior in fulfilling functionality, ease of use, and support requirements. On-demand office suites excelled in the fulfilment of time-to-value and data recoverability. We discuss further results of the comparison of the three software models, and derive practical and research implications for office suite selection.

Keywords:

• office suite selection
• evaluation criteria
• software models
• open-source
• on-demand
• Analytic Hierarchy Process

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alexander Benlian

About the author

Alexander Benlian is an assistant professor of Business Administration and Management Information Systems at the University of Munich, Germany. Benlian holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration and Management Information Systems from the University of Munich, Germany. His research interests include the evaluation and selection of enterprise application systems, Open Source, and Software-as-a-Service. His work has been published in international journals such as Information Systems Journal, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Information & Management, Journal of Business & Information Systems Engineering and conferences such as International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), and Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS).