Open Source Enthusiasts are DIY’ers
I think that a majority of people who use open source do it because they like to DO and solve problems. They are the type of people who would rather drive around a city aimlessly instead of stopping to ask for directions. Solving the problem, at whatever cost, is a major driving force for many open source users.
Since the problem solving desire is a personality trait, it is hard to make a business case to choose open source based on your own desire to solve the problem. Managers want numbers. They want to know that by choosing open source, they will save $X or productivity will increase Y%. Maybe instead, there should be a measurement that with the right developers, choosing open source will increase morale Z%. I know that I am more happy when I work with tools I enjoy.
Increased morale is one of those touchy-feely areas. Just because you have happy employees doesn’t mean you will have a better product. But it might make the whole process more enjoyable if you don’t have cranky developers.
I think choosing open source is most effective when the whole company wants to solve the problem. If parts of the company are ready to pay a vendor mucho dinero to make the problem go away, then there will probably be friction if you choose open source. Take a look at other parts of the business like accounting or marketing. Does the company outsource a lot of work? Would the company rather pay a consultant to do a project instead of investing in more internal resources to get the project done? If you are working with an “outsourcing” minded company, then open source will probably be a hard sell unless you can prove that is saves a ton of money . But when it comes to choosing between two equally priced options, outsourcing or diy’ing, the company will probably choose the option that is more inline with the existing corporate mindset.