Johannesburg, 06 Sep 2005
With the unprecedented hype around open source software and the subsequent benefits that come with it, some people still find it downright bizarre that companies and individual users continue to opt for proprietary solutions.
The reality is that proprietary offerings still account for the largest segment of the market, although it should be mentioned that Linux is by no means slacking off. So why despite the obvious benefits that come with deploying open source, do a lot of people, especially in SA, still go the proprietary route?
Although most people are educated there will always be a general local misconception around the term "free software". People expect it to be free in every sense of the word, like breathing air; however, the "free" in open source should rather be compared to freedom of speech.
Under the GNU licensing it is free to use, the source code is available to all, changeable and redistributable but there are still costs incurred to install, maintain and support it especially in corporate environments. The bottom line is you still have to pay for the expertise that comes with deploying open source offerings even though it is open source.
What we need is a paradigm shift; if this means re-educating the market so be it, but people should understand that when choosing open source they actually pay for the enormous amount of expertise, effort and cooperation that come from the combined efforts of the open source community.
Another misconception in the market is security. Some believe proprietary software is safer as the code is not free-for-all, thus more effectively protected by the vendor.
This couldn`t be further from the truth. As there are at least 18 000 open source developers online at any given time - the "many eyes" theory allows for the timely and highly effective fixing of vulnerabilities. Vendors only have so many developers and can only fix them as fast as their resources allow.
The open source community is enormous source of information and its combined efforts provide groundbreaking results. The people that belong to this community are also schooled in more sophisticated and mature ways of programming.
Reliability issues have also been a constant source of debate. Again, Linux is based on Unix, one of the oldest and most mature platforms out there. Whichever way you look at it, Linux`s foundation is strong and so are the open source applications that spring from it.
There is also a wealth of Unix knowledge out there, which strengthens in-house development efforts. Most large organisations have run on Unix at one stage or another, which now enables them to develop open source solutions on the Linux platform.
Again, as there`s an open source community out there, in-house developers feel secure that they can fall back on its strength, which also fuels superior development.
The time is now - companies have to decide what route they are going to take. Are they going to opt for the perceived safer route of proprietary offerings or are they going to take a leap of faith towards open source and everything it personifies?
It`s rather like fixing your car at an accredited dealer - often it is expensive and you don`t always get the necessary results - or taking it to the guy that has a fantastic reputation and offers the best results out there even though he is dedicated to a particular brand.
Share