Are the days of closed source software numbered?

You only need to look at the explosion of the Apple range of computers to see that Microsoft Windows is being seriously threatened as the operating system of choice.  Many people using Apple computers have no clue what actually runs their machine (aside from the brand name of Apple and the release name of the installed version) but it is in fact a unix-based distribution which has powered Apple machines since their inception in one form or another.

So, what is this 'open source' thing I keep mentioning?

The difference between open source and closed source is basically sharing. 

Closed source

Closed source software means that the source code (the nuts and bolts of how the system works) is not released to the public.  Developers work on the code and then encrypt or compile the code to release it in a version which the public use - they can't 'tinker under the bonnet'.  Of course, the advantage of this approach is that if you have spent a significant amount of money developing the software, you might not want other people taking the 'nuts and bolts' and using it in their own projects, or even worse, improving or making changes to your products and releasing them without going through your strict quality control processes (and bank account!).  Examples are Microsoft products, Quickbooks, Adobe products, and so forth.

Open source

Open source software is the direct opposite of this - although there are varying levels of 'open-source-ness' depending on which license is used to release the code.  Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is often the term used to describe this type of sharing arrangement.  It is important to appreciate the fact that the term 'Free' does not mean no cost.  It refers to the fact that the source code is freely available should it be requested.  You can read more about the definition of free software and open source at Wikipedia.  Examples are Linux operating systems, Mozilla Firefox, Joomla! CMS, etc.

Challenges to closed source operating systems

The brand machine of Apple has had a formidable effect on the uptake of alternative operating systems, with many of my extremely un-geeky friends persuading me of the wondefulness of their Apple products and how amazingly wonderful they are.  It seems everyone who owns an Apple device instantly becomes a spokesperson for their company - and increasingly an anti-microsoft voice!

Apple machines are, however, extremely expensive - and there is no question about this fact.

Businesses are now being forced to look at their spending habits, and whereas before organisations would see the cost of operating system licenses, server licenses and software licenses as an 'essential business cost', more and more are looking at the comparitive cost of employing people with open source skills to support open source technologies - potentially resulting in a huge reduction in ongoing cost to business by staying with closed source systems. 

We are currently in the process of creating some cost/benefit analysis charts to help organisations identify where they could make savings by switching to open source systems - pl.ease subscribe to our newsletter if you would like to be kept informed!

ChromeBooks

Google have recently caused quite a stir with the release of their ChromeBooks which are soon to become available to the UK market - basically a thin client which does everything via a web browser.  Great in terms of data protection (lose your laptop and you don't lose everything on it, as it's all in the cloud) and also hugely lightweight.  Whether this is taken up by businesses or not is yet to be seen, however the concept is great.

It certainly focuses the attention of the software development of web-based applications, no longer relying on systems which run from your computer but that run 'in the cloud' and link in with your cloud account.

We use Google Apps ourselves and have found the transition absolutely fantastic - enabling complete flexibility in working remotely and from whatever computer our staff happen to use, so the concept is quite appealing!

Linux OS

As you may remember, Ben and I had a challenge to try out our specialist areas so that we can both get an idea of what we are interested in, but also to find out more about technologies that we might not have used.  My part of the bargain was to switch my main PC over to an open source OS - which I chose Kubuntu for.

I have to say, since switching to Kubuntu I haven't looked back - indeed I get quite frustrated when I have to use my Windows laptop for something because I am so used to having all the Linux-based software available!

From a business perspective, making the switch to Linux was quite front-loaded in terms of staff training (I was totally clueless how to do anything in Linux!) but after a couple of months I was pretty confident in doing most things - and anything I wasn't sure about I posted up on the forums and got a response really quickly - one of the huge benefits of Open Source Software is that there is generally a community of individuals who work together on the project to provide support.

Web design

You only need to look at some basic statistics to see that open source Content Management Systems are far and above more popular than their closed source competitors - Wordpress, Joomla! and Drupal account for nearly 3/4 of the sites surveyed in the BuiltWith report.

The Joomla! community is ever growing and the development path for the CMS is clearly laid out - there is little chance of it stopping or disappearing forever - plus one of the main points many of our clients come to us with is that they have become 'tied in' to a CMS which is either closed source, and/or built by a particular company who either refuse to allow them to have access to it, or charge extortionate amounts to update it for them.  This risk is somewhat reduced with Open Source software as you can simply find another developer to work with.

Conclusion

In many areas from operating systems to web design platforms and software, open source is both thriving and growing in popularity.  Businesses do need to weigh up the risks and benefits, as well as remembering that FOSS does not mean free - there will always be costs associated with moving to new systems in terms of training, implementation and so forth.  If you're considering moving to open source solutions, drop us a line - we can help you to discover what kind of costs to expect, how to plan your migration and we also have good coffee!

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