Benefits of Open Source

The most perceived advantage of open source is the notion of free software or low cost. But there may be more software that might be free to download and use but the distinguish feature of open source is “Freedom” as listed in 1.2. Below are non-exhaustive list of impending benefits;

Availability: The availability of source code is the most important principle of Open source. Anyone can take the software and use them as is or modify the source code to suit their need. Learn how the software works and port onto new hardware. Many a times defects were fixed quicker from the time the bug was identified.

Lower Cost: Most of the open source projects are free in the sense, free to use and modify. That does not mean there is no cost at all. Acquisition cycles and associated entry costs are minimal for open source software. There are scores of companies that build additional capabilities on top of this freely available source code, enabling an easy path to deploy open source-based applications. The economic model is an eye-catcher for organizations. There is zero cost of scale, because open source does not require additional licenses as the installation grows. The only spends are towards the support for the software. Open source operating systems like Linux have the capability to support older hardware and cheaper hardware to accomplish the same tasks as on conventional servers (like PA-RISC).

Flexibility: Software flexibility is about being able to modify the program as per our needs. Open source eliminates vendor lock-in which enables best of breed solutions to be adopted as per business requirement.

Continuity: when customers are associated with propriety Software Companies they run the risk of running out of support and upgrades when the propriety Software Companies shut shop. Open source software is not dependent on a single entity and gives users the advantage of the communities for break fixes and bugs. Any developer can choose to take up the software and fix the issue.

Vendor lock-in: Customers with proprietary software have to solely depend on them for all the upgrades and fixes. There is lack of portability and the inability to customize software to meet specific needs. Open source gives the freedom of choice, customers can chose any vendor giving you the flexibility.

Security: Source code is available publicly. Therefore, large amount of programmers can analyse the code and contribute with security patches and also increase the quality of the software by adding more features. The peer review process drive excellence in design.