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What is Open Source
The business model behind Open Source
The business model behind Open Source relies on providing support and encouraging users to share development costs. This means that no licence fees apply and participating organisations all share the benefits – software that meets their needs exactly, a more dynamic market for IT support, and greater collaboration to improve the programs.
Why Open Source
Open Source gives users the opportunity to increase choice, competition and efficiency, whilst achieving long term savings and avoiding lock-in with suppliers
Proprietary software and Open Source software will co-exist in most SMEs
across Europe and system suppliers to European businesses. However, Open Source
gives users the opportunity to increase choice, competition and efficiency,
whilst achieving long term savings and avoiding lock-in with suppliers.
Administrative processes are simplified, as there is no need to match
software usage against licences and product upgrades can be made as and when
required.
The applications also run on a wide variety of computer hardware,
avoiding the need to purchase the latest sophisticated equipment if resources
are limited.
With Open Source, users are not committed to software
suppliers and long contracts. The flexibility and freedom of Open Source allows
local authorities to select a combination of software applications specific to
their needs from the range of Open Source products available.
Free vs Open
Open source software, Free software and Freeware are confusing terms to the purchaser because they appear on first sight to be similar
Open source software, Free software and Freeware are confusing terms to the purchaser because they appear on first sight to be similar but the costs, licensing and support are very different and all are available for a variety of platforms including Linux, Unix and Microsoft.
Open source software (Wikipedia) refers to computer software available with its source code and under an open source license to study, change, and improve its design. Open Source is not necessarily free, suppliers may charge to bundle software into a easy to use distribution or charge for installation and support.
Free software, (Wikipedia) as defined by the Free Software Foundation, is software which can be used, copied, studied, modified and redistributed without restriction. Freedom from such restrictions is central to the concept of "free software", such that the opposite of free software is proprietary software, and not software which is sold for profit, such as commercial software. Free software may sometimes be known as libre software. The usual way for software to be distributed as free software is for the software to be accompanied by a free software license, and the source code of the software to be made available.
Freeware (Wikipedia) contrasts with "free software", due to the different meanings of the word "free". Freeware is described as "Gratis", as in "free beer
How does it work
The basic idea behind Open Source is very simple
The basic idea behind Open Source is very simple:
- When programmers can read, redistribute and modify the source code for a piece of software, the software evolves.
- People improve it and adapt it. And this happens at an astonishing pace compared to conventional software development.
- Any change that improves on the original is shared openly and over time the program collects a library of improvements that add value to the software suite – it is often described as "community developed software".
- It is believed the number of individuals inspecting and adding value to Open Source programs improves the quality, security, development speed and adaptability over time.
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