Those functioning in Information Technology World will know about the existence of a community driven by the common good and in opposition to capitalist models like software licenses and IPs controlled by companies like Microsoft or Oracle. Though the opposition is less to Business applications or productivity tools, it is prominent for something as basic as Operating Systems and Infrastructure. This community believes in collaboration. Welcome to the world of Open Source.
With open-source software, everyone has the ability to solve business problems and even carry out social change. Open Source paved the way for something as effective as the World Wide Web as well as pioneered remote collaborative development which was essential during the pandemic. Today most of the cloud runs on Linux. Thus free software runs every contemporary computing resource. And many of the programming languages fueling the growth of software development, such as Python, are also free and open. And its impact only continues to grow, democratizing technology and driving innovation.
There is a difference between Open Source and Free Software. The term “open source” implies that the source code is “open,” hence it is available to view and review. Free software, on the other hand, adds the additional requirement that there is a license to make modifications to the code. Strictly speaking, you can view open-source code, but not necessarily put that code to use. Free software ensures that you can make changes and share those changes with others. Further, neither open-source nor free software says anything either implicitly or explicitly about its commercialization. While many open-source and free software projects are maintained by non-commercial enterprises, many commercial organizations profit from free software. For example, they might offer support or consultation or outsource modifications and customizations. Perhaps the place where open-source software most directly touches the public is in the realm of the World Wide Web. Tim Berners-Lee, its inventor, convinced his management at CERN to let him release his protocol under a free-software license (previous protocols were proprietary), and Marc Andreessen released the first graphical web browser, Mosaic, under a free-software license. Mosaic incorporated a feature, “view source,” that let any user see the source code of the page they were viewing, bringing an unprecedented level of transparency to computing and leading to the rapid adoption of Web 1.0.
Because contributions to free-software projects are by definition unrestricted, it is not surprising that a decentralized, global community of developers has fueled its growth. The distributed nature of this community exposed the need for tools for distributed software development, which is one reason for the popularity of productivity tools such as Git. During the Covid pandemic, the commercial software world adopted the remote collaboration frameworks that have been used by the free-software community for decades.
Open source, as described above, undoubtedly has demystified computing for much of the world who would never have the privilege of working for a proprietary software company. Free software has given that same multitude the license to do something tangible with that knowledge. The clearest way open source drives innovation is by expanding the pool of programmers who can examine, critique, and modify existing code. But, on a broader scale, when the principles of open source are embedded into the process of education itself, the ability to innovate is democratized; it becomes not the privilege of a few, but the right (and obligation) of the many.
Open-source software is a dominant presence in the industry. The majority of cloud applications are open-source, and almost 90 percent of smartphones run open-source software. What’s more, most software developers hone their craft on free software projects, giving them valuable, accessible opportunities to learn, improve their skills and create better, more impactful software throughout their careers.
Many companies having diametrically opposing stands on Open Source are moving towards Open Source.
Microsoft recently called open source software the "industry-accepted model for cross-company collaboration. Experts believe that open source is likely the future for continued improved innovation.
Open source gives businesses peace of mind because they have guaranteed access to their own data regardless of what happens with the source of the software. It gives businesses agility without having to invest a lot of time. Does that mean that there is no place for traditional software but the benefits of utilizing and sharing your own developments are much more? Many Industry Leaders believe that the key to making open-source the future of the software industry is actually investing in these open-source communities and making them a priority.
In hindsight, open source is a box of tools, and it might be difficult to get started and run or operate the software. There is often a lack of structure around the adoption of these tools. Other hurdles the industry will have to overcome to make the future a reality are establishing more coding standards, implementing peer review, and focusing on security. But many experts are emerging to help business users adopt Open Source.
Few other key drivers of Open Source adoption are Source Code Ownership; there will be no end of a cycle for a product. These tools can be easy to customize as per business needs. These tools are reliable and scalable as they are reviewed and tested by a community. They can seamlessly integrate into other ecosystems of legacy and modern applications thanks to the existence of APIs.
The philosophy of Open Source is central to humanity, its history, and its evolution. Resources like water, land, food, and clothing were initially owned by the community but human nature resulted in private ownership of land, thus resulting in ownership of energy and food resources. This resulted in the evolution of the whole economic model throughout its history. This generated lot of conflict and tragedy for humans. Now with connectivity and collaboration being the essence of human innovation, it is but natural that Open Source should democratize these resources creating new business models of its own. Open Source is here to stay and has a long way to go.
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