What is Open Source software?
Open OSI (The Open Source Initiative), the organization that raises awareness and promotes the development of open source software, defines open source software with the following properties:
- Free redistribution of the software
- The distribution must include the source code / the source code is publicly available
- The license must allow modifications and derived works based on it, even in a different format than the original software
- The software should not discriminate against people or groups
- The license must not restrict other software or technology usage
Why use Open Source software?
- Strong community of invested, high value developers
- Own your system and project code without licensing fees
- Own your data, it can't get stuck in a proprietary system
- Update and patch on your own schedule
- Customize your implementation for exactly what you need
- Hire help with confidence, based on public contributions to your project
So, that means it's free... right?
Well... kind of. Free as in free kittens, not free beer. You won't be paying a licensing fee or a download fee for this software, and you can customize it, design your project, and deploy it all yourself. That's a lot of work!
Don't want to do all that work? Contact me for help. My philosophy as a consultant aligns with the tools. I will empower you as users with as much training as you would like as I design, customize, and train you for a deep understanding of your project, leading you to success.
Interested? More good resources:
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html