Benefits of Open Source
Cost: Open Source software available under the GNU GPL license is free.
In some cases, you may choose to pay for the distribution (compiled version that
contains installable executable software on CD ROM). The cost of the distribution
is generally trivial compared to the cost of many enterprise level commercial
offerings. In addition, the developers of many of the open source solutions offer
support contracts that are suitable to all levels of business or organization.
Software Source Code: When you purchase a license to use most commercial
software, you are dependent on the software designer to add features or customize
the software for the needs of your business or organization. The software manufacturer
provides you with only the executable program. You do not have access to the source
code. With open source software, you are free to modify the software and customize
it in order to suit your application.
Scalability and Robustness: a large community of highly skilled software
developers has created open source solutions, such as Linux, Perl, and Apache.
As you can see from our examples, open source software is used across a full spectrum
of web sites. Open source UNIX based operating systems such as Linux and FreeBSD
are extremely robust and efficient as they are suitable for both small and large
organizations.
Large Support Community: a large community of developers that communicate
through on-line discussion groups supports many open source offerings. This allows
common problems to be easily solved and bugs to be quickly exposed and fixed.
Security and Protection of Proprietary Data: There is a myth that open
source software is more vulnerable to attack than proprietary solutions. Actually,
the opposite is often true. Because the source code is exposed, it is often easier
for a security minded software community to close security holes or breeches.
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