Open Source Myth Busting
Open Source software development has a lot of myths and misconception associated with it. One of the biggest problem is that open source development doesn’t carry the marketing power behind competing closed environments (i.e. Microsoft) to push its benefits and dispel these myths. So we took a shot at it.
- Open source is good for startups and small companies only. Reknowned startups ranging from Twitter to Facebook are examples of startups using open source. However, so are governments, healthcare companies , the transportation industry, global enterprises and even the Israeli Airforce. These are just a few examples of the movement away from proprietary systems towards open source development.
- Open source is not as reliable. Did you know that most Internet activity, from the TCP/IP protocol itself to e mail to most web hosting and SaaS based services , are based on open source? Reliable enough for you? You decide.
- Open source is less secure. Open source is under the scrutiny of thousands of developers who find, report and fix the bugs. Reaction time is much faster than the average proprietary environment (e.g. Microsoft)
- My development will not be copyrightsprotected. Elements of your “engine” will be based on open General Public License (GPL) but the essence of your business and content can be rights protected regardless of the development environment.
- Open Source development is free. The software is free. The work is not. Open Source will save you money. The costs are mainly related to support and customization and for the software itself.
