This is the time when many businesses and government organizations use open source software like Linux. It is clear that price is not the only factor because of which people choose open source, there are many other factors related to the functionality of open source software because of which people prefer using it. The free and open source software (FOSS) provides many benefits to the businesses. The main reason why the open source technology is preferred over the other technologies is mentioned below:
Improvisation
It is hard to think about a better security framework other than the one offered by the open source platform. The software that is not open source is managed by the representatives of a particular company. This means that those software products are closed from company view. As a result of this, no one outside the company has a slightest clue about the bugs in the software. The limited set of developers and testers in the companies might not be able to check the software like the worldwide community does for open source.
The bugs present in open source software are fixed easily and quickly because there are huge number of people working on making the software better. Companies using the open source technology do not have to spend a lot of time in improving on the software and they have a secure framework to work with.
Quality
Which you think will be a better choice? A software designed by a few designers or a software that is created by thousands of developers? As there are millions of developers and users worldwide working on improvising the software and with this, they are also coming up with new inventions in terms of features and enhancements to the open source products.
Overall, the open source software is closest to the needs of the users; this is because the users and developers can make it what they want. According to a recent study, it is stated that technical superiority is the main reason why enterprises choose the open source software.
Customizations
When it comes to open source software, this point cannot be left behind. Customizability is one of the biggest reasons why many individual professionals and businesses prefer using open source. Users can conveniently take a part of open source software and tweak it to suit their requirements. As the code is open, it is all about modifying it for adding the necessary functionality. This is surely not possible with any proprietary software.
Freedom
When businesses adopt open source software, they do not have to face vendor restrictions. Users of proprietary software are at the mercy of the vendor’s rules, prices, priorities and timetables. As a result of this, there is a limit on what the businesses can do with the proprietary software.
Open source provides the users with complete control; they can take their own decisions at any time and do what they want. Moreover, they also have the backing of the worldwide community at their disposal to help them with everything. Although open source software provides you with complete freedom, it is important to manage open source software with care. Open source is a huge framework and has to be handled with caution.
Flexibility
When your business utilizes proprietary software like Microsoft Windows and Office, you have to make sure that both, software and hardware are updated at all times. On the other hand, open source software is less resource intensive, therefore, you can run it well even on the older versions of hardware. It is up to you and not the vendor to decide when the software has to be upgraded.
Interoperability
Open source software is great in terms of adhering to thee open standards as compared to proprietary software. If you wish to establish interoperability with other businesses and users and you don’t want to be restricted by proprietary software, then open source is best for you.
Auditable
You can actually measure the updates of open source software. In a closed source software, all you have is vender claims that stating that the software is secure and adhers to the standards. As the code behind open source software is visible, you can audit the software for yourself and know what security and improvisations are implemented.
You will surely be at a better position using open source software instead of closed source. The best thing about open source is that you will always find suitable solutions to any issues. If you have your doubts, you can try this software before actually using it. Open source is the future!
