This is exactly the most outstanding feature in Google Chromium OS. In Google Chromium OS everything is web-based, or if you prefer it, in “the Cloud”. It is meant to be used with online web application and you will store all your files online. That’s what makes it so fast and lightweight: the OS doesn’t need to install anything on your computer, because you can access everything online.

This is the perfect Operating System for low-spec computers like notebooks. After logging in with your Gmail account, you are ready to start. Google Chromium OS may look a bit peculiar at first, but it’s also very intuitive. Peculiar because it’s completely different from any OS you may have tried so far – it’s just a web browser –, and intuitive because a web browser is where we spend most of the time on any other OS, so there’s no learning curve at all.

Google Chromium OS is certainly a revolutionary operating system that challenges us users to change our image of computers, and the way we’ve been using them so far.

Given this vast choice, whenever we build applications for our clients, we often face this age-old question: Build or Buy? Sometimes, we ask this of ourselves, and other times, our clients ask us. The answer to this question can have profound cost and strategic implications as we move down the product life cycle.

The answer is not always simple or at least not one that can always be arrived at with just a casual consideration. As any good project manager will tell you, the devil is in the details!

So what are some key factors that are important to consider in answering this question that usually has critical economic and strategic implications?

• Total Cost of Ownership for each option (on surface this often supports buy option, but dig deeper)
• Extent of visual branding required vs. permissible by purchased software
• Extent of functional customization required (customization is expensive!)
• Integration with legacy systems or databases (often a big factor when considering for an established business model)
• Availability of Source Code
• Technology platform compatibility – hosting, competency of internal support resources
• Application usage volume/traffic/licensing costs (per server/site etc)
• Intellectual Property issues

As you can see, when you consider all of these factors, the decision requires a thorough analysis from multiple angles – technology, legal, business, marketing and finance. A good decision avoids expensive reworks later. Sometimes, when the window of opportunity is lost or under exploited because of incorrect buy or build decision, rework may not even be an option. That can be very costly!

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