What is Open Source and should I use it?
According to Wikipedia “Open-source software (OSS) is computer software with its source code made available with a license in which the copyright holder provides the rights to study, change, and distribute the software to anyone and for any purpose” The reason I chose a quote from Wikipedia, is that Wikipedia itself is built with the open source platform MediaWiki. Some other well known examples of open source platforms are Firefox, android, and even Apple’s flaships OS X and iOS are built using Apple’s open source Darwin OS.
In plain english: open source software is freely available to anyone to use AND it’s source code is also made freely available for the world to see and improve upon. This allows any of the millions of software developers across the world, to use and improve upon these community driven projects. Most open source projects are managed by one person, or a small group of people, but have contributions from many more (sometimes over tens of thousands).
What is the benefit for a business to use an open source CMS (Content Management System) over a proprietary system.
Security
Open source software projects, such as Android and WordPress, are generally accepted to be more secure than their proprietary cousins (such as Windows) for the simple reason that more software developers are able to peer review the code. Studies by both Stanford University and Carnegie Melon University found that over 10 years ago Linux already had over 100 times less bugs than what proprietary software typically has.
Proprietary software has the added disadvantage of having its source code kept secret from the public. This allows software manufacturers to hide security vulnerabilities instead of fixing them. When these vulnerabilities inevitably find their way into the dark underbelly of the web, users (both firms and individuals) often pay a very high price. Because open source code is, well, open source, these security vulnerabilities can be fixed quickly by any of the developers who contribute to the project (instead of the relatively small teams who usually work on proprietary software) and the end users get their software updated soon after. Any user of WordPress knows that there are updates required on a regular basis. These updates close security holes before they can be exploited and allow end users to take advantage of the open source community.
Quality
For the same reasons that open source software is generally more secure than it’s closed source counterparts it is also tents to be better quality from a usage perspective as well. Drupal, the number #2 CMS in the world after WordPress, is used by the White House for their website and in turn the White House has contributed back to the Open Source. Some of their projects can be found on Drupal, GitHub, and on the official White House website. The websites for Disney, Beyonce and TechCrunch are all built in WordPress, the most popular (and open source) CMS in the world. Firms at the forefront of technology embrace open source platforms because they give them the freedom to build high quality solutions for their clients no matter what the job.
Ownership of Code
When you build something based on an open source project, you own that code. The major open source licenses (MIT and GPL) ensure that if you build a project that utilizes an open source project, your right to use that project (such as WordPress or Drupal) can never be revoked. There is a myth that if you use open source code in your projects, that you are obliged to make our entire project open source. This is a false, and propably a result of people not actually reading the licenses that they are referring to. The GPL license (used by WordPress, Linux, Drupal, etc) states that if you make changes to the GPLed source code and then you distribute the end product you must release the code. This only applies to the core files (the stuff you download from WordPress, etc) and not the theme code for your site, the content of your site, or any user information. As long as the developer who is building and maintainting your site has a strong understanding of the relevant licenses you will always own your code. Unlike with a proprietary system that relies on an incorporated business no-one can revoke your license to use an open source CMS, but more importantly - you eliminate the risk of the provider of your proprietary CMS going out of business and leaving your site in the lurch.
In Summary
There is no question that open source is the way of the future, and in software world the future is now. If you’re curious about your company’s needs, please feel free to reach out to us by phone or email.