1. “Open source is a niche IT sector”
Perhaps this was a fair comment when Linux and Apache were in their infancy, but now
open source has established a firm foothold in the data centre, and this statement could
not be further from the truth.

2. “Open source cannot support mission-critical applications”
Many opponents to open source fuel the idea that open source is not reliable enough
to run mission-critical applications, and that the quality of open-source products is
poor. Yet open-source products are subjected to the same levels of performance, stress,
functional, security and regression tests that closed source products are. In addition, an
advantage of the open source development model is that it enables collaboration with
the end-user very early in the development cycle, allowing bugs and design flaws to be
identified early.

4. “Open source technology does not offer professional level support”
Today, open source providers offer professional support, and make it possible for the software to run
mission-critical applications for major, global companies. Indeed, the business model for most open source
software providers depends on customers buying support and services.

5. “Open source is unregulated and anyone can contribute code”
Some opponents of open source propagate the myth that anyone can access and change open-source code,
which makes it unsecured and unreliable. However, the truth is that access to open source code is controlled,
and any changes to the source must either address a problem, or enhance the product.

6. “Open Source software is not secure”
A common misunderstanding is that open source software is more vulnerable to exploitation than closed-
source software, simply because code that is exposed is more likely to be hacked. Open source software is
secure by design and uses standard software development methodologies and secure coding techniques. All
source code changes are subjected to rigorous peer review before acceptance.
Because of this review, more proactive checking for vulnerabilities occurs, bringing to light any exploits in the
code, and providing built-in security from the ground up.

Conclusion

The open-source market has evolved and grown in leaps and bounds. Open-source is a viable option for large
enterprises and small businesses alike, and this realization poses a real threat to the bottom line of closed-
source providers.
What the closed-source players lack is the recognition that the open source movement is a result of years
of collaboration with the customer, involving them in every step of development, and delivering premier
class support and services - a completely different business model to what they are accustomed to. So today,
the open source providers like Ingres, who have over 30 years relational database heritage, are set to be the
disruptive technology of the future.
 

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Comments (3)

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written by James-Alain Laplanche, October 14, 2009

It's unfortunate that many small business owners have doubts about open source code. Because many open source software are well architected, they can be scaled to meet business requirements by integrating more modules.

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written by David Baier, October 14, 2009

agree - open source is on the verge of tremendous growth. For example, in the CRM arena, the down-side dynamics in today's economic climate drive many companies to figure out how to grow sales, increase demand, and sell more effectively and most sales management teams know that CRM can be a tool to help a sales force to break out as the economy improves. This fact coupled with the cost-effectiven ess of open source subscriptions and implementations make it a a very low risk approach to CRM. We will see many companies that have not previously considered open source in the past, inclined to consider it now. Commercial open source CRM software has evolved over the last several years and is now ready for the enterprise. This coupled with the current economic conditions can be the impetus that propels open source CRM into the forefront. Like Linux before it, commercial open source CRM is primed for the enterprise and explosive growth. At the end of this current economic downturn, we may look back and say this was a defining event for open source. For more on this topic see http://blog.levementum.com/2008/11/sugarcrm-up-and -to-right-in-2009.html

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written by Eduardo Llaguno1, October 14, 2009

Great points.
We could add some extra illusions or myths like:
- Open source will drive you and your company into legal problems
- What drives open source adoption is price (although it's important adoption is a matter of usefulness)

among others.

Great post

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