FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 6, 2003
The power of open source software
No longer just the realm of high-end researchers, governmental system
administrators or universities, open source is gaining popularity
within the business community.
"Open source software has proven time and again to be more stable, more secure and more flexible than closed software," said Ken Stox, technology partner for Chicago-based Imaginary Landscape, LLC a Web development firm and proponent of the open source philosophy. "Besides that, open source software is free."
Most equate open source with software like the Linux operating system, Apache Web server, Perl scripting language and sendmail mail transport agent. These applications are significant in the technology-steeped world of the Internet. Apache, for example, powers two-thirds of all Web servers in the world. But, open source is expanding beyond the confines of the Internet.
"OpenOffice is a viable competitor to Microsoft Office and runs on any Windows desktop," said Ric Lee, operating partner for Imaginary Landscape. "WinGIMP is a viable alternative for Photoshop. Right there, I've saved ,100 on just one machine."
Utilizing open source software across an entire company or enterprise can result in significant savings.
Beyond the cost savings, open source products are reliable because of the peer review process fundamental to their creation. Programmers from around the world collaborate on open source projects. Open source developers program, test, suggest changes and add features all within an open forum. Under this bright light of development, bugs are discovered and fixed with startling speed. Consequently, security holes are quickly closed which makes open source applications safer than their closed source counterparts.
"Our use of open source as a development platform allows us to pick freely from a large pool of ready-made software and tailor it to suit our client's needs. This head-start combined with the no-cost model allows us to pass savings directly to our customers," said Lee.
Open source also provides significant flexibility. Users no longer fall victim of proprietary software vendors going out of business, forcing an expensive upgrade, or arbitrarily increasing support costs. Open source is readable and transferable allowing users the ability to switch to another development firm and preserve their investment.
A common criticism of open source software is its lack of documentation and help. Developers like to produce software, not write about it. Consequently, the standard for documentation and help files is low. But, in the example of OpenOffice, it looks and acts a whole lot like Microsoft Office. To know one is to almost know both. Nonetheless, sparse documentation is the price paid for the open source alternative.
IBM, Sun, Apple, SGI, even Microsoft are devoting more attention and resources to open source initiatives. As the momentum builds, the software industry stands at the brink of a revolution with the end user as the big winner.
"Open source software has proven time and again to be more stable, more secure and more flexible than closed software," said Ken Stox, technology partner for Chicago-based Imaginary Landscape, LLC a Web development firm and proponent of the open source philosophy. "Besides that, open source software is free."
Most equate open source with software like the Linux operating system, Apache Web server, Perl scripting language and sendmail mail transport agent. These applications are significant in the technology-steeped world of the Internet. Apache, for example, powers two-thirds of all Web servers in the world. But, open source is expanding beyond the confines of the Internet.
"OpenOffice is a viable competitor to Microsoft Office and runs on any Windows desktop," said Ric Lee, operating partner for Imaginary Landscape. "WinGIMP is a viable alternative for Photoshop. Right there, I've saved ,100 on just one machine."
Utilizing open source software across an entire company or enterprise can result in significant savings.
Beyond the cost savings, open source products are reliable because of the peer review process fundamental to their creation. Programmers from around the world collaborate on open source projects. Open source developers program, test, suggest changes and add features all within an open forum. Under this bright light of development, bugs are discovered and fixed with startling speed. Consequently, security holes are quickly closed which makes open source applications safer than their closed source counterparts.
"Our use of open source as a development platform allows us to pick freely from a large pool of ready-made software and tailor it to suit our client's needs. This head-start combined with the no-cost model allows us to pass savings directly to our customers," said Lee.
Open source also provides significant flexibility. Users no longer fall victim of proprietary software vendors going out of business, forcing an expensive upgrade, or arbitrarily increasing support costs. Open source is readable and transferable allowing users the ability to switch to another development firm and preserve their investment.
A common criticism of open source software is its lack of documentation and help. Developers like to produce software, not write about it. Consequently, the standard for documentation and help files is low. But, in the example of OpenOffice, it looks and acts a whole lot like Microsoft Office. To know one is to almost know both. Nonetheless, sparse documentation is the price paid for the open source alternative.
IBM, Sun, Apple, SGI, even Microsoft are devoting more attention and resources to open source initiatives. As the momentum builds, the software industry stands at the brink of a revolution with the end user as the big winner.
