Abstract
The Impact of Open Source Software used in Corporate Infrastructure ABSTRACT Freeware has become one of the software sources for enterprise business operations. With no license fee, the user in principle can adopt, study, distribute, and improve the freeware for personal use or enterprise adoption. Under such, software users are provided with a flexible option without the lock-in effects of traditional commerce software imposed. The adoption of the freeware can further relax the enterprise IT infrastructure requirements and reduce the software expenditure by establishing more efficient development tools and integrated environment. This study aims to investigate the critical factors of enterprise freeware adoption. Questionnaire survey method was applied. The EMBA students of a major university are the subjects participating in this study. After the survey data collected and analyzed, the results indicate that the popularity, compatibility, functionality, and maintainability are the major factors for enterprise freeware adoption while the cost is not as critical as the above factors. From the IT people’s perspective, the stability of IT system operation is among the top of factors which will influence the freeware adoption. Keywords: freeware, freeware adoption, critical factor