What is open source software (OS Software)?
OS Software is software with a source code that has been publicly distributed for other programmers to access, use and learn from, meaning that anyone can inspect, modify and enhance the software. Because of this, open source software is generally considered to be more stable, more secure and more flexible. While users still have to accept the terms of a licence when they use OS Software it is very different to the licence of a proprietary software (eg Microsoft Office). Use of proprietary software often involves the payment of licence fees that increase in line with the number of end users at a specified location, or the purchase of “seats” (often referred to in CRM systems). Proprietary software licences also generally prohibit the altering or sharing of the software so if it doesn’t do quite what you need it to you may end up adapting your processes in an unsatisfactory manner. In addition, if there is a bug in the software, you may have a very frustrating wait while the company decides on and distributes a fix. The Licence for OS Software, on the other hand, quite often specifies that modifications to the software must be shared so fixes are often quickly and freely available.
What are the benefits of using Open Source Software?
If someone is building software for you using OS Software, more often than not, you are paying for their skills and expertise rather than the software. And because the software can be modified and enhanced by any developer, there are many benefits to using OS Software, including flexibility, cost effectiveness and security.
- Flexibility
- Because the licence for OS Software generally permits developers access to the source code, the end product can be adapted to fit in with your existing systems and processes rather than the other way round. This enables a good software developer to seamlessly integrate the new software with your existing systems and processes. The software can continue to be enhanced to meet your changing business needs too rather than you having to wait until the owners of proprietary software decide there is a market for the enhancement before developing and releasing it.
- Cost Effectiveness
- The ability to modify and enhance OS Software also leads to cost effective long term solutions as there is rarely the need to purchase entirely new software when your business requirements do change. Because the source code for OS Software has been publicly distributed for other programmers to access, use and learn from, you can be sure that there will always be the tools and skills available to maintain your software, particularly beneficial if you are relying on your software for critical tasks! And you can be sure that any bugs will be fixed quickly and the fix will be shared freely amongst software developers saving time as well as money.
- Security
- Security is a huge consideration for anyone utilising IT within their business and because OS Software is freely distributed and open for developers to modify and enhance the source code, it would be easy to make the assumption that the software would be less secure than proprietary software. However, in reality, the opposite is true. Since there are many developers working on the OS Software, fixes for vulnerabilities are shared quickly and there are likely to be fewer problems. Indeed Open Source Software is already a part of many large companies IT infrastructures and concerns that OS Software is less secure than proprietary software are unfounded.
Open Source Software can provide you with flexible, long lasting, cost effective and secure solutions to your ongoing business systems requirements.
