Why have I not heard of open source software before?

The business model for many IT service providers has been to market and supply three key elements, software licenses, hardware and services. As open source software is free, this removes a key element and revenue stream and therefore has not been in the interest of the IT service provider to promote open source to their customers. Unfortunately for many IT service providers, their customers are becoming aware of free open source software and are beginning to question why they have not been offered this free alternative. Also, open source software does not relate to a single software product or company and is not marketed in the same way as a traditional software provider advertises their products. Instead, many different communities and companies produce open source software applications and as they do not charge for these software products, there are not the funds to advertise as there are with chargeable proprietary software.

Could the open source community disappear leaving my organisation isolated?

Open source has been in existence for decades so rest assured, your organisation is not adopting a new and untested software solution. What has changed over the last few years is large IT corporations such as Google, IBM, Intel, Yahoo, Redhat, to name but a few, have invested heavily in open source software helping it evolve into a real alternative to proprietary commercial software. With such well respected brand names behind open source software, this provides the confidence that it is here to stay and those organisations that adopt open standards and open source software will not become isolated. To add further weight to this statement, please read the News section, which provides reports on organisations transitioning to open source software solutions.

Who will support my open source solution?

Existing support models will not need to change and independent IT consultants can work with your existing IT providers and/or find new IT providers to ensure your organisation continues to be supported as it currently is today. However, open source software allows additional support options which can further drive down IT costs. Unlike many proprietary commercial software products, open source software allows an organisation to directly communicate with the developers and other key users of the product. Therefore, it is normal to ask for help with a problem directly to the community developing the software and receive an answer back much quicker than your organisation has been used to. If the problem happens to be an issue with the software code itself, it is not uncommon to receive a response from the actual developer who wrote the code followed by a patch to resolve the issue. Because interaction with developers is so common, support is far quicker with open source than can ever be obtained with commercial proprietary software products.

Why would people produce software at no cost and for no reward?

There are many rewards working within the open source communities and rewards come in many ways.

Some software developers are sponsored by IT companies to work full time on specific open source software projects and are actually paid a salary. Companies donate their own developers to a project because they require that software to run parts of their business. An increasing number of companies are working this way as the cost to produce the software is shared amongst many companies rather than just one. Obviously this significantly reduces the cost of software development within these organisations providing them an advantage over their competitors

For some it is the prestige which comes from being a software developer on a project within the open source community. Open source software developers are well respected and sought after in the marketplace which makes themselves much more marketable in their own careers.

As open source attracts some of the most skilled software developers in the world, a large number of people appreciate having the opportunity to work alongside and meet some of the most talented software developers in the world.

For those that dedicate their spare time to the project, it can become an actual hobby! Their reward is gained from the satisfaction that they are producing quality software which is something they may not be allowed the time to do within a commercial software environment.

Many software developers believe software standards should be open and unrestricted allowing easy interoperability between applications. They believe these standards should be set by the many rather than a single commercial organisation as has historically been the case. By working on open source projects, they can put into practise their believes.

But for many they receive their rewards knowing that because open source software is available to anyone in the world for free, they are providing people from all countries and backgrounds an equal opportunity to use the same tools. This is why open source software is now so dominate in developing countries helping these countries to compete with developed countries.

What is meant by “open source" software?

Software is produced by developers writing in a code (known as the source) which is understood by both developers themselves and the development software. Once a finished application has been produced, this code is then compiled into a format which only a computer can understand and is no longer eligible by the developer. When a commercial company sells a software application, they generally only sell the compiled version. This is known as closed source software because you can longer see the source code and therefore cannot make any changes or improvements. Open source software publishes both the compiled version and the source code. This makes the "source" “open” for all to see, change, improve etc. So the words "open source" really does mean the source is open to everyone!

If the source code is published, hackers can surly read it and find ways into the software causing security risks?

Publishing the source code actually improves the security of software. Companies which produce software commercially only have a finite number of developers working on a software product. Although reviewing and testing a software product before release is common practise, that company can only provide a certain number of resources even in the largest software companies. Open source code is published so that everyone around the world can see it allowing the tens of thousands of people who participate in these communities to test, review and contribute. Security holes are found much quicker in open source software because there are many more eyes looking at the problem than could ever be possible in a commercial organisation. Even when problems are found, these same people can write a patch and send it to the community for review which explains why problems in open source software are fixed much quicker than their commercial equivalent.