Why Choose Open Source

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What is Open Source Software?

Open source means the software code is available to users and developers, with few restrictions on usage, modification or distribution. Open Source Software is widely deployed by corporations and governments for robust applications in business, education and science.

Why is OSS better than proprietary software?

1 Vendor independence

In a recent survey by Computer Economics, users named vendor independence as their prime reason for choosing OSS. As the source code is available under public use licences with few restrictions, users aren’t locked into vendors, developers, IT partners or costly software upgrade cycles. OSS gives users genuine freedom of choice and more control over their IT environments.

2 Lower TCO

Lower Cost is the second reason why many organisations choose Open Source Software. With no licence cost in most cases, OSS starts with a clear advantage over proprietary software and this has lasting impact on the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). The adoption of Open Standards can also yield cost benefits; for example, the Dutch government expects to save $8,000,000 a year just by adopting the Open Document Format (ODF), which facilitates document exchange http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22245923/.

3 Better Fit

Open Source also gives customers the freedom to customise or enhance the code to suit their exact needs. This flexibility is of real value to oganisations with special needs that can’t be met using standard software. Many enhancements to Open Source applications have been contributed by customers or their integrators.

4 Tighter security

Open Source Software suffers fewer attacks than the large base of proprietary software, which most malware writers are targeting. Since Open Source code is widely published, many eyes in the OSS network see the code, and potential exposures are spotted and fixed rapidly. That makes OSS inherently more secure than proprietary software.

5 Greater Scalability

Since Open Source Software is hardware-independent by design, applications are highly scalable. A prime example is Linux, which was designed to run on PCs yet is now employed on both business servers and supercomputers. With OSS, scalability is assured and IT systems won’t be a barrier to business growth.

6 Easier collaboration

Collaboration was the catalyst for creating OSS and is still one of its key benefits. With no licence restrictions creating major obstacles, collaboration between business partners in the vibrant OSS network is easy, expected and encouraged.

7 Free Exchange

Open source code is designed for others to use, so it is written with modular components that can be easily interchanged. This modular approach fosters wider exchange, provides greater flexibility and enables easier migration to new hardware or operating environments.

8 Open Standards

The Open Systems Initiative publishes, updates and monitors open standards and protocols, from networking to document formats. Open Source Software must comply with published Open Standards so that disparate systems can readily exchange vital information.

9 More Innovation

Free collaboration in a network of talented developers has fostered innovation and close, productive relationships with leading software vendors. The internet is built on Open Source technology, as are Linux, Mozilla FireFox and Apache Web Servers (half the web servers around the world run Apache). Its robust performance has made OSS the preferred software for the world’s financial markets and most of its supercomputers.

10 Confidence in numbers

Education and government were the early adopters of Open Source Software. As OSS has matured and grown more feature-rich, commercial organizations have also embraced it. Large corporations like Renault, ABN Amro and UPS have replaced major proprietary systems with Open Source Software. Open Source has truly reached maturity.