Benefits of Using Open Source Technologies

With an increasing number of businesses and government institutions relying on open source technologies, it is even more evident that price isn’t the only advantage that these platforms offer. Free and open source technologies hold a variety of other compelling benefits of businesses that are far more valuable than its price.

Security

The recent discovery of a number of defects in the Android Kernel makes an interesting point that the only reason such detection was possible was because the kernel code is open to the public. While the Android platform may not be entirely open source this example helps illustrate the fact that the more the number of people who can see and test a set of codes, the higher are the chances of the flaws being identified and quickly fixed.

Quality

It is evident that a software package that is developed by thousands of developers is bound to be much better than one that is created by a handful. Just like there are a countless number of people working to enhance security on open source platforms, there are an equal number of people working to innovate new features and enhancements for these products.

Open source technology helps deliver products that are closest to what a user wants. This is because the user, he or she has a chance to contribute in its making.

Customizability

Businesses can easily take a piece of open source software and alter it to suit their specific needs. Whether it is internal software, a website, a blog or an application that you wish to build, all you need to do is modify it and add the functionality you wish to have.