Open source software is a very attractive solution for enterprises due to its low cost and transparency, two characteristics that settle two of the biggest challenges for professionals in the field of computer science: high cost of software infrastructure and constraints of the enterprise.

The advantages of open source software include:

• Reduced costs, because users do not pay for license or software updates.
• Vendor neutrality because the software is developed and owned by a community and users are not under pressure for using specific software.
• Access to the source code, giving enterprises the opportunity to inspect, edit and modify the code according to their needs.
• Innovation, through the large community of users that includes end-users who contribute to the creation of the software.

What is Open Source?

Open source software has been developed in cooperation and belongs to a community rather than a vendor. The source code is freely available and users are allowed and encouraged to modify, improve and redistribute the software under the license terms of open source. The result is an example that drives the development teams away from a situation of being trapped by a vendor and provides the benefits of cost savings, access to source code and continuous innovation.

What is not Open Source

It is not freeware, because freeware is usually proprietary and freely distributed in binary format, while open source software is free but belongs to a community of users rather than a particular user only.

It is not shareware, because shareware is copyrighted and available for use for a limited time or with limited features, while open source software consists of complete software packages.

It is not just for proof of concept, because the community includes many target users for each application, but the code is of high quality due to the large number of users.

The development of open source software is not free, because even though the code is available at with no license cost, there are costs to support the software development.

Different projects, different development work, because the characteristics of each application will vary according to the intended audience.

NEEDS OF ENTERPRISE IT

Enterprise IT organizations bring out, manage and maintain some of the largest and most complex software applications and have certain requirements:

Stable software versions

Quality Of Service

Licensing

Support and business services

Extensibility of solutions

Therefore, open source software has many advantages when used in enterprises and should be carefully developed according to their needs.