Open Source Software Made Easy
IBM, Sun, and the European Union are all major organizations who are acting like open source will be a very important part of the computing world in the near future.
We’ve all heard about open source, most likely in the form of the very popular Linux operating system, but as soon as someone tries to investigate on their own they quickly encounter a lot of programmers talking in code. There's a reason for this—programmers love working on open source and it's a hobby for many.
This site, however, is designed to give a clear, jargon-free look at the potential, and perils, of open source software. Learn why some giants of technology are betting on an open source future and what open source software programs can do for your business.
Definition
Any software where the source code is available for others to modify and use as they wish is open source. Open source software isn’t necessarily free, and free software isn’t necessarily open source. But, more often than not open source software is free, or at least the most basic version of it is.
Some open source program are designed to run on the Windows or Macintosh operating systems, many more are designed to operate in a Linux-based operating system. Red Hat is probably the most common and easiest to use “distributions?(version) of a Linux operating system.
Advantages
- Lightweight, stable programs thanks to the many thousands of people who help find and fix the software's bugs.
- Online distribution via direct download or a less bandwidth intensive "torrent" model that makes trying and buying software a snap.
- Software features are designed to fix real-world business problems; bells and whistles might make good marketing but don't always help the average user.
- Highly customizable.
Disadvantages
- Documentation and user manuals can be hard to follow for non-techies.
- The programs themselves may be extremely powerful once learned, but aren't always as intuitive as they could be.
- Customization costs development time and money.
- Most businesses operate on proprietary programs, so sharing information or documents might be difficult.
Open (Source) for Business
For a small business that's just getting started or a larger business that's tired of paying for licensing and maintenance of software programs that barely work, there is a range of business-friendly open source programs.
There are office suites that have the full range of word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation programs. Some of these office suites are able to open and edit their Microsoft equivalent. Open source Content Management Systems make building and maintaining a website with a host of useful built-in features a breeze.
Open source Customer Relationship Management and Sales Force Automation programs are either free or very well priced, and are designed to be totally customizable. Because building an open source software project depends on programmers around the world collaborating with one another, the collaboration tools built for the open source work environment are especially useful businesses with multiple locations.
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