In Open Source software ‘free’ stands for freedom, not price.

“Free software” means software that respects users’ freedom and community… users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve it.” (gnu.org)

There are a few stubborn misconceptions that exist about Open Source Software (OSS). These include:

• Free of any financial costs
• Less secure
• Poor quality
• Lacking innovation and professional support
• Not suitable for commercial purposes
• Complex licensing structure

‘What does Open Source even mean?’ is a common question. Apart from the word ‘free’ associated with open source software, which comes with its own associations such as ‘lower quality’, not many people we speak to about this, can recap other benefits of open source software i.e. why it may be a suitable choice for their company.

Larger organisations with higher budgets may even automatically think that open source is not for them, without realising that for many enterprise level companies, including universities, government organisations and corporations, open source software is preferred to proprietary software.

Let’s briefly unpack some of the myths listed above:

“Free” = freedom.

There are definitely some costs associated with open source software especially if you’re using it in an organisational setting. You need to pay for customising the software to your unique needs and have a reliable team behind you to maintain and support it.

With no lock in contracts and unmatched flexibility, open source software gives our clients the freedom to innovate. The flexibility and endless customisation options that come with choosing OSS, means you can experiment and build something of your own – something that will support your systems and processes in exactly the way you need.

You can modify code, you can develop new plugins and you can share lessons and tools with a large community of open source users. You will also have access to a much greater pool of talent should you need to expand or change your development or technical support team at any time. This will ensure your business continuity and resilience.

More importantly, all this will provide you with a solid competitive advantage.

Security in Open Source software.

Just because the code is open, it is not more vulnerable to attacks. Many developers believe the opposite – open source is more secure. The ongoing community support means problems are identified and patching is available at a greater speed to software users and development and support teams.

Read: Six reasons to feel secure with Catalyst IT

Innovation and professional support.

In addition to the vast community of talent that exists behind Open Source projects, there are also specialised third party companies offering a full suite of services for Open Source software. Catalyst IT is a classic example, offering implementation, customisation, hosting and support services for Open Source projects such as Moodle LMS and various other solutions that are written in Open Source programming languages.

Not suitable for commercial purposes.

Many large and enterprise level organisations – government and commercial – prefer to use Open Source software mainly for its flexibility and the business resilience benefits that it offers. Whether you are an education provider, a manufacturer or a retail group, by choosing Open Source, you will enjoy secure and highly scalable systems, as well as cost efficiencies in the long run.

Read: Supercharge your business: why it pays to be open.

Complex licensing.

In the Open Source world, you are never alone. There are Open Source consultants out there who can advise you on choosing the right licence based on your specific needs.

Quality.

Given how many large organisations, including those with high compliance requirements, choose Open Source, the ‘poor quality’ perception of Open Source software should be the first one to doubt.

Yes, there’s a number of Open Source products out there that did not gain popularity and were left unmaintained. However, it does not mean that the Open Source products that did become widely used are in the same boat. People continue to use quality products because they work; as the user base grows, many users become contributors to the progression and continued success of the products.

Open Source communities encourage interested parties to use the product freely and become involved in its maintenance. Thats why the development network behind some Open Software products is larger than the teams supporting proprietary systems.

Open Source products that have been continuously used by more and more users over the years, improve in quality and are generally more strictly maintained by development teams who have a significant interest in the success and progress of the software. This exacting QA approach and the large-scale of interested parties (consultants, dev teams, core software maintainers and clients) means improvement is of a faster pace and a lower cost than of proprietary products.

In conclusion:

We are often presented with an overwhelming choice of software solutions. Having to review and compare all the features while having to comply with a certain selection criteria can be daunting. One key benefit of Open Source software that overrides all other criteria (and that is unbeatable by proprietary software solutions) is the freedom. With how much flexibility it offers, you cannot go wrong with choosing Open Source.

You may also like:

What’s holding us back from being ‘open’? Why OS and business resilience go hand in hand.

Open source software – what is it?

Supercharge your business: why it pays to be open.

Third party systems integration: challenges and opportunities.

Contact Catalyst today if you require Open Source consulting, development or hosting services.

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