GIS projects don’t always get completed by the entity that started them, for a variety of reasons. But how does a buyer of GIS services ensure project continuity?

Last week a good size New Jersey engineering firm (with a decent size GIS department) shut its doors, its many municipal and private clients left high and dry. Not for long, of course -- there is no vacuum in the marketplace. But the transition from one GIS implementer to another is rarely as easy, simple and straightforward as the system owner expects.

I wonder whether an open source implementation would lend itself to a smoother transition. Not necessarily because of the open technology, rather due to the openness of the process itself.

Thoughts?