Cost savings are still the primary driver for organizations choosing open-source software, according to Jay Lyman, an analyst at The 451 Group. However, that impression seems to change after adoption, when more users report that flexibility is the primary benefit they enjoy rather than cost savings, he says.

"With the downspin of the economy, how you spend your money is critically important," says Bassim Hamadeh, founder of University Readers, which uses SugarCRM software. "But beyond saving money, what we look for is better software." SugarCRM offers enough flexibility that when the IT team wants to add a feature to the Web site, it first considers creating it in SugarCRM.