Open Source

Open source means that you get the source code of the software that you use. This shifts the controls from the software vendor to the client while preserving the vendor right. Shifting the control means shifting the power to the client side. And with this the client has the right to see the code, change it and use it and hence protecting him from the vendor in many ways

Free Yourself

Using a proprietary software will put your enterprise under the vendor lock-in. This lock-in puts the customer into a situation where he is so dependent on a vendor for product and services that he or she cannot move to another vendor without substantial switching cost and on the extreme case it would be impossible to escape due to complexity of the task. A customer can get into vendor lock-in by many means including:

Free Yourself
  • Proprietary Data format that makes it impossible for you to move your own data from one format to another.
  • Being forced to use a specific platform, software or hardware, in order to run a proprietary software.
  • Being forced to sign agreements with the vendor in order to use the proprietary software like the support agreement.
  • Being charge for every upgrade or change in the system configuration, or being limited by the proprietary editions specifications.
  • The inability to use other software in congestion with the proprietary software.
Going with the open source can protect you from becoming locked with a vendor while leveraging your existing system . The idea of open source software is to make the source code of the accessible by the public. And under the license of the open source, anyone can download the source code, modify as you like, and then use it without any constraints what's so ever.

 

This nature allow you to see all parts of the software which protects you from being locked under the data format. Moreover, with open source software you are not forced to sign any agreement with a software vendor though it is optional to sign support plans with the software vendor which costs much lesser than the ones provided by proprietary.

In contrast to the proprietary software, there is only one or at maximum two flavors of the corresponding open source software. This can increase the Cost of investment without needing to pay for the software upgrade. It is also important to note that most of the open source software strictly follow the standards which makes it possible align and run other software the open source software.