Submitted by: Submitted by dawidxxx
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Words: 885
Pages: 4
Category: Science and Technology
Date Submitted: 07/04/2015 09:24 PM
The Open Source Value Proposition
According to Gartner research, “by 2015, ninety-nine percent of mission-critical applications in Global 2000 companies will contain open source.” Open Source Software (http://opensource.com/resources/what-open-source) (OSS) has been around for over two decades and it is fair to say that it has now gone mainstream. A lot of organizations are adopting OSS to support their innovation initiatives, to accelerate development time and ultimately to create a competitive advantage that any organization is looking to achieve today. Although OSS is being widely adopted, often organizations are challenged with the risks and strategic implications associated with such technology. What are the main benefits of using OSS compared to proprietary software and what makes OSS an attractive value proposition for organizations?
Innovation
OSS generally refers to any source code or programs that can be “freely” used, changed and shared by anyone “free” of charge. OSS typically results from the work of programmers that share their codes with a community for “free”. One of the major differences with proprietary software is that people that engage in open source development projects are doing it on the “free” of charge basis. Free in term of cost but also free in term of choice.
This difference significantly drives people that engage in Open Source projects, in term of motivation, commitment and dedication. Consequently, community members are usually highly passionate and engaged in developing OSS projects. Some research shows that passion and collaboration are ones of the key components of the innovation processes, and in that respect open source communities provide an incredible platform to nurture innovation and talents.
According to the recent 2015 future of open source survey (http://www.slideshare.net/blackducksoftware/2015-future-of-open-source-survey-results), “9 in 10 respondent say that open source greatly impact the speed of innovation”....