The Engine for Collaboration: Advantages of Open Source For Your Business

So you’re thinking about working with open source? Good luck! The open source community is waiting for your arrival. But first, let’s talk about the advantages of open source for business.

According to the 2018 Tidelift professional open source survey, 92% of respondents said that their applications contain open source libraries. Open source is also present in companies of all sizes, from startups to large corporations.

What do these open source software statistics mean? It means that open source is critical to the commercial software development process and is slowly beginning to challenge proprietary software. That’s why today we’re going to talk about the “why’s” regarding open source software for business. Let’s dive in.

Open Source Software Advantage #1: You Get a Cost-Effective Solution

What would you say if we tell you that open source can be used for free and there’s no need to buy expensive licenses? I think you’ll be excited to hear more! Especially because your business can greatly benefit from what we’re about to say.

Open source software is generally free and it’s less expensive for businesses to use and maintain than closed software. You’re not limited to one vendor for managing coding services and bound to licensing agreements. Now you’ll be able to invest that extra money into innovation labs or enlarging your team.

However, not everything is free when it comes to open source software for business. The software is usually free to download, but you do need to pay for running costs such as storage and computing power. Believe it or not, even with these expenses, open source software is far cheaper than closed source alternatives.

Open source software is developed to meet the needs of the community instead of one individual or company. Luckily, you can easily modify it and extend it with the help of your skilled developers to meet your unique requirements.

In a nutshell, with the help of open source software for business, you’ll be in a position to create an extensive tool that meets your business requirements at significantly reduced costs and in shorter timeframes.

Open Source Software Advantage #2: You Get a Software That Has an Active Community

“Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much” – Helen Keller

Whether it’s sports, music, or some nerdy stuff, is there a more amazing experience than being a part of a community? You’re in touch with like-minded people who offer their utmost support and guidance on a daily basis. You feel like these people get you and you could talk with them for hours without end.

Well, open source software for business is something similar. You get an active community that benefits from supporting one another. In an open source environment, people give direct support and feedback on your code. You can also find a wide range of blogs, tutorials, forum discussions and live chats that are good for learning.

Let’s imagine this scenario. You find a bug. The release of your product is due in three days. What do you do? There’s a myth circling online that when this happens, as no one is officially in charge of the open source software, you’ll be stuck without any support. However, this is a huge misconception. Not only that you’ll detect the bug more quickly, but you’re fix it more swiftly as well. And all thanks to the collaborative culture.

All in all, open source is a culture of collaboration, sharing, and caring. You will connect with people who are experts in their fields, exchange ideas, and together, you can make the open source community a place of learning and making progress.

Open Source Software Advantage #3: You Get a Software That Is Secure

You know what they say: four eyes see better than two. Okay, maybe no one says that anymore but it’s definitely true!

As everyone can open, view and modify open source, this provides an extra layer of security. It’s inclusive and all members can monitor and review code to check whether it’s accurate, if it has any bugs or hacks.

As more pair of eyes keep track of code, there are higher chances that errors will be detected and necessary changes will be performed. The code will be high-quality and you don’t have to rely on third-party vendors and wait for them to fix coding errors.

Otherwise, you might not detect any errors, or it might take plenty of time for you to discover broken code and get in touch with your provider to resolve the issue. And we all know how “helpful” customer service agents from big corporations can be. If you suddenly experience a malfunction and the service desk is closed, you’ll be waiting for hours to get assistance.

Even the big players agree that open source software for business is the smarter decision. Look at Microsoft. Did you know that the king of proprietary software is active in open source communities? Or that Google, Cisco, Amazon, and other big companies signed on to contribute to an organization called the Core Infrastructure Initiative? The goal of the organization is to fund open source projects.

If the “big fish” are happy to rely on and support open source software, why shouldn’t you?

Open Source Software Advantage #4: You Get a Software That Will Help You Remain Competitive

Let us guess: you want your business to thrive and stand out from the crowd. By good luck, open source software for business has the right tools to help your brand be unique in its own way yet remain competitive.

How does it achieve this? For starters, you have multiple software support options and are not limited to one provider. Many businesses make a big mistake thinking that paid software it’s superior to open source alternatives. They think that paying to use an app will give them a competitive advantage and better security features. In fact, paid software might even hold many businesses back from better and more suitable tech solutions.

With an open source software for business, companies can reach their consumers and create a unique product without being restricted by a single provider. What’s more, being able to edit the code can be extremely handy when it’s time to make last minute changes. Thanks to customization options, you can foster more innovative ideas and increase your product’s quality.

To Wrap Things Up

Today, we can see all types of businesses, from small tech startups to the “big guys”, adopting open source software because of its quality, support, security, and affordability. It seems like open source is everyone’s “sweetheart” as it can help businesses design scalable, sustainable and customizable products.

There’s no doubt that open source software is, at last, making its way to the top and challenging closed software vendors offering expensive programs. The time is now to free yourself from paid software and sail the waters of open source.

To conclude, some of the major advantages of open source software for business are:

• Open source can be used for free and there’s no need to buy expensive licenses.
• You’re in touch with like-minded people who offer their utmost support and guidance on a daily basis.
• More pair of eyes keep track of errors.
• Open source software for business has the right tools to help your brand be unique in its own way yet remain competitive.