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| 10 | 2007 |
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| Open Source: Software Freedom |
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> Open Source Defined
> The Benefits
> Concerns & Myths Debunked
> The Proof
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Although the term "open source" was not made official until the "Freeware Summit" of 1998 (later called the Open Source Summit), the collaborative efforts of programmers to develop software equal, and even functionally superior, to commercial software has been evolving since the '60s. By harnessing the cumulative efforts of innovative programmers, development communities are able to quickly add new functionality, correct bugs and defects, offer collective support, lower costs and develop upgrades faster than closed-source commercial software. By the late '80s, developers had begun to realize the benefits of offering open-source software (OSS) to everyone, a phenomenon that resulted in the first open-source software license in 1989. Nearly 20 years after that trademark event, open source is finally becoming mainstream.
The term open source (a term heavily debated and determined by a majority vote at the Open Source Summit), often gets misconstrued by calling it "free" software or "free and open-source software (FOSS)." It is important to note that the term "free" is meant in terms of freedom, and not in terms of monetary value. Not all open-source software is free of cost, but all open-source software does come with the source code and the freedom to modify it. According to the Open Source Initiative (www.opensource.org), a non-profit corporation created to provide open-source education and advocacy, in order for software to be labeled open source, it must comply with the following 10 criteria:
1. The license must allow free distribution
2. The software must include the source code
3. The license must allow the software to be modified
4. The license may only restrict distribution if patch files are allowed
5. No discrimination against any person or group
6. No discrimination against any industry or field
7. Must include a single distribution license (not to be customized for anyone)
8. The license cannot be specific to a product
9. The license cannot restrict other software
10. The license cannot be restricted to a specific technology or interface
In a nutshell, open-source software can be downloaded, tested, used, modified and redistributed.
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Now that we’ve defined it, what is the advantage of open source for the end user? The benefits range from cost savings to reliability and offer companies immediate and long-term results. Its effects have become extensive enough to embolden open source use even for mission-critical systems. In fact, “OSS is expected to be included in mission-critical software portfolios within more than three quarters of large international enterprises by the end of this decade, and many surveys indicate that a majority of us are using OSS in production today,” according to IBM’s February 2007 white paper The Future of Software Delivery.
1. Cost Savings
While not all open-source software is free, many are free to download. And, best of all, if there is a license fee, it is a one-time fee (and usually less than proprietary software). Unlike most proprietary solutions, with OSS you don’t have to pay for an additional license every time you add a new system. Thus, the costs saved over time as the company grows can be substantial. In addition, the low-or-no cost open-source solutions also mean that small and medium-size businesses are able to use advanced software that previously only enterprise-size businesses could afford. A September 2006 TechWorld article offers this real-world example: “Backcountry.com, an online outdoor sporting goods retailer, moved into open source around 2001 when it was just getting launched out of the founder’s garage. ‘There’s no way they were going to drop $50,000 on an Oracle license,’ says Dave Jenkins, the Red Hat consultant that helped Backcountry.com deploy a Linux-based e-commerce system and later became the company’s CTO. Today the company has more than 200 employees and continues to use open source in all areas of the business, including the desktop, where today about two-thirds of PCs are running Linux.” While many companies are motivated to try open source based on the lure of cost savings, studies have shown that they not only continue using OSS, but expand use of it to mission-critical areas because they have found the quality and reliability to be equal and, in some cases, superior to proprietary solutions.
2. Open Standards
In March 2007 Forrester Research published a study of 486 U.S. and European companies using open source solutions titled Open Source Software’s Expanding Role in the Enterprise. “When survey respondents were asked about the level of importance assigned to various attributes of open source software, an overwhelming margin of more than 75% indicated that support for open standards, the ability to use without restriction, and not being locked into a single vendor were either important or very important attributes of the open source.” It is this particular freedom with open source software that has earned it credibility with those who are tired of the proprietary software games. We all know how they’re played. Many proprietary solutions only work with other software from the same provider. They make their money not only on exhaustive licensing fees, but also on upgrades. And in order to insure that you buy their proprietary upgrades, they halt all support, fixes and patches for older versions just a short period of time after a new release.
While any software will have upgrades, OSS doesn’t pressure vendors to upgrade, and releases are generally more stable and have far less compatibility issues. In addition, vendors are not restricted to one company in order to achieve compatibility. In fact, many open source companies use “stacks” of solutions. For example, LAMP is a common open-source infrastructure which uses Linux (L) for the operating system, Apache (A) for the web server, MySql (M) for the database, and PHP (P) for the programming language. This is unlike, for instance, Microsoft, which uses Microsoft products for the entire stack: Windows operating system, IIS for the web server, Microsoft Sql for the database and ASP.Net for the programming language.
3. Ability to Modify and Redistribute Derivative Works
For those who have specific needs not being met by the functionality of proprietary software, OSS offers users the ability to customize it themselves by providing the source code with every piece of software. In addition, users are able to redistribute the modified version. This can come in particularly handy in instances such as government use. Why should the government waste money on licensing fees for software used by each level of government? Instead, the state, for example, can acquire open-source software, customize it to fit its exact needs, and distribute it to the local government agencies. The possibilities of customization and redistribution as well as reuse are endless, as are the resulting cost savings.
4. Reliability and Stability
With proprietary software, what options do you have if there’s a bug? Typically, you contact a representative, who relays the message on down the line and files a report, and if you’re lucky, the bug will get fixed in the next patch or upgrade (whenever that may be). With OSS, even if your software didn’t come with a support package, there is generally a 24/7 community of technical people to answer questions, offer suggestions and even an immediate solution. Bugs tend to be fixed faster, sometimes within hours and the software tends to be far more stable. In a TechWorld interview with John Alberg, the CIO for Employease (recently acquired by ADP), what Alberg found the most “fascinating about moving to open source is the performance improvement that resulted. The move to Linux, for example, dramatically cut the rate of server failure experienced by the company. Typically, under NT, one of the company’s servers would fail each working day. Now, he says, ‘ we get at most two failures a month – and often don’t get any in a month.’ Linux also runs Alberg’s applications faster than NT, a fact that has meant that despite more than doubling its business since 2000, the company hasn’t needed to buy any more servers. ‘Linux increased our capacity by between 50 percent and 75 percent, ‘ says Alberg.”
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Myth 1: Licensing and copyright issues are risky with open source software
While there are hundreds of different types of open-source licenses, regardless of whether you’re using OSS or proprietary software, you’re still going to have to abide by the property rights. The issue gets complicated with OSS due to the fact that one of the things that makes open source so appealing – its community of authors – also makes it tricky when it comes to copyrights and licensing. As open source gains popularity, however, many companies are mitigating these risks by simply requiring contributors to sign the copyrights of their code over to the organization. Most end users need not worry about the risks of infringement, and according to Forrester Research’s white paper Open Source Software’s Expanding Role in the Enterprise, intellectual property worries “ranked among the lowest areas of concern.” Part of the reasoning for this is due to the fact that “open source code is open to inspection, so potential violations are easier to spot early in development,” and “the risk of patent infringement is no greater or lesser for open source than for commercial software.” Companies using open source software as part of their own software can mitigate risks by simply consulting the vendor and having their legal department insure there are no rights violations.
Myth 2: Open source solutions do not offer support
Support is offered by many open source providers, particularly the well-established names such as Linux, Apache, MySql and many, many others. Just like commercial software, there are various types of support and they vary from product to product. Some OSS offer separate support agreements, some are included with the purchase of a license. And most offer access to the online community of developers in the form of forums, blogs and other resources to enable users to have 24/7 access to ask questions, download patches, and contribute.
Myth 3: Open source software is not secure
Anyone who spent the last week downloading the recent release of 10 security patches from Microsoft for their desktop PC knows that security concerns are not subject to only OSS – security is a concern with all software. The difference between the OSS security concerns and the proprietary security concerns is that OSS vendors provide users with the source code, making it easy for users to test, identify and fix any security issues. In addition, OSS vendors can be contacted and releases, particularly those regarding security flaws, are generally responded to much more quickly than proprietary software vendors. With proprietary security issues, users do not have access to the source code and generally are at the mercy of the vendor to develop and release patches.
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Need more proof? As the adoption of open-source software has increased, numerous white papers have been written to study its real-world usage by companies of various sizes and in a variety of industries. To learn more, here are a few we recommend to get you started. (All of the following white papers are free to download, although some may require registration.)
1. “Open Source Software’s Expanding Role in the Enterprise” [PDF] – Forrester Research published this in-depth study in March 2007 as a summary of its findings related to the use of open-source software and its IT role in North America and Europe.
2. “Managing the Risks of Open Source Software” [PDF] – Alcatel published a study conducted to analyze the legal issues surrounding open-source licensing in order to outline a methodology for managing its usage in the telecommunications industry.
3. “Make Your Case For Open Source in the Enterprise” – A “how to” guide for writing a business case for open source use at your company.
4. “The Future of Software Delivery” – IBM’s look at the past and future of software delivery trends and its use of open-source software, service-oriented architecture (SOA), and globally distributed development (GDD) to maintain their three principles of software delivery: community, modularity and empowerment.
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About The Brookfield Group
The Brookfield Group has become a leader in IT, ISP, ASP and web solutions by providing next level technology solutions managed by experts who give you peace of mind without the tech-talk. The company's services are customized to fit any enterprise-size businesses and include: IT project management; hosting solutions and maintenance; systems security and patches; telecommunications services, server and desktop setup, repair and applications; network infrastructure design; audio visual products; surveillance and security solutions; as well as a variety of other software, hardware, services and accessories. Located in Carmel, Indiana, more information about The Brookfield Group products and services is available at www.thebrookfieldgroup.com or by calling 317.524.6000.
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