Many of you use open source software (OSS), whether you know it or not.  It is embedded in just about every software product you use.  Sometimes the OSS is a very recognizable name.  For instance, do you use Chrome or Firefox?  How about Android?  As consumers, we use OSS because it’s free.  But why do businesses use it?  Here are my top eight reasons a business should use OSS:

1. Free or Low Cost.  There is no doubt that you can obtain OSS for free.  Certain OSS may also be available under a commercial license.  Often when OSS is offered with a commercial license, it is still at a lower cost than a commercial alternative.  In addition to the cost of the license, you may want to consider the type of support you need.  Are the forums that surround the OSS enough for support or do you need a commercial organization to give you the level of support you need?

2. Reduces Operating Cost.  Not only does OSS come without a license cost, it also means your staff doesn’t have to develop the functionality from scratch.  By not spending time creating functionality they can get off the shelf, your overall development costs are reduced.  This is a great initial cost saver, but you can save more.  Developers can also take advantage of an open source IDE (Integrated Development Environment) to help them code.  This helps you further lower your development cost.  Want more savings?  For your operational environment, you may also choose to use OSS to drive out cost.  For instance, CentOS is a Linux operating system that is a clone of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).  If you don’t often use Red Hat’s support, why pay for it?  While CentOS doesn’t offer commercial support directly, there are a number of third parties willing to provide support.  The good news is that if some day you do want Red Hat support, you can transition from CentOS to Red Hat with minimal disruption.

3. High Quality.  OSS, just like commercial software, is created by professionals.  The OSS creators follow many of the same practices you insist be followed within your own software development practices.  Perhaps one advantage to popular OSS components is that they have a significant user base.  The more users that work with a piece of software, the more likely that bugs are going to be found and fixed!

4. Improves Speed to Market.  If you can pull a set of functionality “off the shelf,” doesn’t that speed up your software development?  Absolutely it does!  Why rebuild what is already available?  If you find OSS providing 80% of your required functionality, isn’t that a fantastic acceleration?

5. Adheres to Industry Standards.  Most popular OSS adheres to accepted industry standards, so the OSS components are easily incorporated into your company’s software.  Conforming to industry standards also makes it easier to replace components later if you need to for whatever reason.

6. Maintained by Others.  I love this one.  When you create a piece of software, who is always asked to fix it?  You are, of course!  When you choose OSS, you now have a community backing you up.  They fix and enhance the software component.  This keeps you free to focus on enhancing your special product.

7. Advances at a Rapid Pace.  Who doesn’t love to see updates to software?  Updates mean bug fixes so the software works as it should.  It also means new features – I love new features!  I hate waiting around a year or two just to gain access to a new useful feature.  OSS often gives you early access to new capabilities.

8. Dominate the Market.  OSS can help you bring your product to market faster than the competition.  Sometimes the first to market wins!  But, did you know that by embracing the OSS model, it may help you enter a market that is dominated by a commercial vendor?  Imagine being able to diffuse a competitor’s sales team’s FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) that your product is a proprietary solution with no future.  Wouldn’t you like to be able to tell the client that by choosing your product, they are be free to move to other vendors if they don’t like the support you provide?  And if something should drive you out of business, they are still protected because they always have access to your product?  That’s a powerful statement.  You can find out more about how to achieve this here.

Using OSS has many advantages, but there are also pitfalls to avoid.  Selecting the right OSS to use requires effort.  In fact, it is best done following a responsible software introduction and management process.

What OSS do you use to help deliver your products to the market faster?  Comment below!

—Jeff Brown, SilverStream Consulting