Deciding to use open source

Open source is about freedom not simply the ideal of freedom, but the commercial reality of freedom. Open source software does not carry licensing or subscription fees. Although the initial attraction of open source software may be the fact that it is free of charge, you are likely to find very quickly that the long-term advantage of open source lies in two other characteristics: The code is accessible. Unlike many commercial products that not only hide their code but also forbid you from modifying it, open source code is visible and you are free to modify it to suit your needs. Open source protects you from being tied to a specific vendor. If you adopt an open source solution, you can partner with the developer of your choice to assist you. If you deploy a system such as Joomla!, which is based on popular and common technologies, you need not dread having to change vendors in the future because finding people who are familiar with the system and have the skills needed to work on it is easy. Taken together, the initial cost advantage plus the long-term benefits of having access to the code and your choice of vendors create a compelling argument in favor of open source. However, you should also consider the disadvantages in the course of making your decision. If your firm has existing software deployed on a proprietary system, you may want to continue with those systems rather than introducing different products or platforms into your business. Support can also be an issue with open source products. If your firm requires a high level of support, you need to select an open source vendor that can offer you an appropriate service-level agreement.

Determining whether open source is right for you

Although open source provides a welcome alternative to commercial software and it will work for the vast majority of people, it is not necessarily the right answer for everyone. Whether open source is right for you depends upon your situation and your tolerance for business risk. The advantages are:

Cost. Open source is cheaper to obtain and studies show that implementation costs can be significantly less than for closed source solutions.

Open source can be vendor agnostic. You are not tied to a single vendor and cannot be held hostage by that vendor.

Open source presents less risk. Studies consistently show that open source  development process produces better code and that many eyes make for more secure applications. Moreover, when problems are detected, open source produces patches at an extremely fast rate.

Open source is easier to install, configure, and customize.

Open source promises more rapid innovation.