Service · Custom software

Open source development

Picture a twelve-person law practice in Nova Gorica. Matter files live on a network share, scanned papers sit in folders only the secretary can decode, and deadlines are tracked in one partner's diary. A commercial document system charges monthly per head and stores everything in its own cloud, while the partners want to know precisely where confidential client material sits. Open source is tempting here, but “free” is a slippery word. There is no licence to buy, yet installing, patching, backing up and securing the software becomes your job. We therefore see open source less as a saving and more as a decision to own your tools. You set where data lives and when upgrades happen; we stop that ownership turning into a chore. For a practice like this we would probably suggest Nextcloud for files and co-editing, Paperless-ngx for scanned documents with full-text search, and Keycloak or Entra ID for single sign-on, all running on a server in an EU data centre with scheduled updates and tested backups.

No per-seat fees
cost does not climb with headcount
SBOM
component list with each release
LTS line
upgrades on a calendar
Exit route
data in open formats

Scope of the service

Open source is free like a puppy someone gives you: nothing to pay on day one, years of looking after it. This is how we keep it manageable.

Check the scope with an engineer

Five-year cost picture

Hosting, maintenance hours, training and any paid extras set against the licences of a commercial alternative. The table shows plainly when open source pays and when it does not.

Maturity check

Release cadence, number of maintainers, a published security policy and who backs the project. GitHub stars do not interest us.

Licence register

Each component is logged with its licence, for example MIT, Apache 2.0, EUPL, GPL or AGPL, and any situation that would trigger a duty to publish code is flagged. Legal judgement rests with your lawyer.

Changes beside the core, not inside it

Adaptations take the form of plug-ins, modules or settings, leaving upstream code untouched. Upgrades then install without rewriting your customisations.

Single sign-on and roles

Login through Keycloak or Entra ID, group-based permissions, multi-factor authentication and API links to your ERP or other systems.

Dependency hygiene

Automated dependency bumps with Renovate, container scans with Trivy, an SBOM per release and a heads-up when SI-CERT or the project announces a vulnerability that affects you.

Fixes sent upstream

Bugs we fix are offered back to the main project. Once accepted, a fix is no longer your private burden at every upgrade.

How the work runs

Four steps from wish list to everyday use, with one department piloting before the whole firm moves.

01

Needs

Essential features, user numbers, integrations and where data must reside.

02

Shortlist

Two or three candidates, a demo on a test server and a total cost comparison.

03

Pilot

Several weeks on one department's live data, then a candid review of what is missing.

04

Business as usual

Upgrade calendar, monitoring, backups and documentation that someone else could take over.

Plan the exit before you go in. At selection stage, check which formats you can export data in at any time and whether another system could read them. Open source gives you that freedom only if your data is not locked in a database layout one program alone understands. We test the export during the pilot.

Your questions answered

Not necessarily. Public code can be scrutinised by anyone, security researchers included. What matters is whether the project ships fixes quickly and whether you apply them on time, which is why we check maturity and keep an upgrade calendar.

For files, sharing and co-editing, often yes. If your team leans heavily on Teams and Office with all their integrations, the switch is harder. We show the differences in the pilot rather than on slides.

For most internal use, no. With GPL the duty usually arises when you distribute the software to others; with AGPL when third parties use it as an online service. The licence register marks those points and your lawyer makes the final call.

Community forums are useful but promise no response time. For systems we deploy we suggest a maintenance agreement with written response times, and some projects also sell support from the company behind them.

It depends on how many systems you run and how often they need upgrading. Work is charged at €50 per hour plus VAT or folded into Start, Business or Premium. An annual hours estimate comes with the total cost comparison.

Explore an open source option with us

Which need should be covered, or which commercial product would you like to replace? We will show suitable projects and what they cost in total.

When we work
Weekdays 9:00-17:00 CET, answers the same or next working day
Calls
Video meetings, Teams and Meet both welcome

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