Closed Source & Open Source for Your Business
December 10, 2006 – 3:17 pm
So much of today’s software is open source based because people use it in mass quantities. There are competitive advantages to both Closed and Open source software but how do they affect your business? With software being used by pretty much every business in the modern world today it will be interesting to see how businesses using these applications will remain and stay competitive.
Why is Open Source Great – Open Source is great because it has a community behind it. Linux and its various distributions built themselves on this idea that software should be free and I completely agree with this. What I do not agree with is that Open Source limits competition in business and can destroy businesses because of the simple fact of lower barriers to entry into a marketplace.
Why is Closed Source Great – Closed source is awesome because it restricts free enterprise from fully taking place because in essence “No one can steal your source code”. If you are building business using closed source applications for certain functions and have access to API it can be far easier to develop specialized components to run and keep a competitive advantage.
With the free enterprise that Open Source offers many small startups the tools they need to compete with the big guys. Closed Source keeps that barrier up because you need money to buy the applications that your business needs in part to run.
Windows will remain the standard for a few years yet and i assume that when that time comes and free operating systems are all the rage Microsoft will find new ways to compete but until then why not do some research and enjoy the best of both worlds (Closed and Open Source) when it comes to your business?
Lucas
What does your business run on?
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