"Active Business applications developed by the organization require careful planning and execution. In general, the organization has two ways to proceed with the task. The first way and the most common is a proprietary software development and the other way is to go through the open-source path.
Current industry standards are changing each day and it normally takes a lot of time for the organizations to cope up with the changes. With complexity increases, companies might choose the open-source way. But, there should be some concrete reasons before one actually starts developing an active business application using open source technology.
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The FOSS movement is not new and it really caught up with Linus Torvald. Nowadays major platforms and software are open-source in nature. The main major example would be Android(not completely open-source), Linux, and WordPress. These platforms have shown the dominance the open-source thinking can have. All three platforms/software has incredible market dominance and they are on the right path for capturing more in the future.
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So, should you develop your next active business application using open source? We will go through the question by listing all the points for the open-source. Also, nothing in this world is without a disadvantage. For example, open-source projects are generally more costly than proprietary software. Let's keep the disadvantages away and let's focus on the reasons why you should choose an open source business application or open-source business solution for your company.
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1. Secure than the rest
The market is highly competitive and sensitive information can really change the course of the market. That's why organizations invest hundreds and thousands of dollars to keep their system safe.
Albert, there is a path that organization can take during the active development of its business application. Choose open-source.Â
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Open Source Platform is far superior in security compared to the proprietary counterparts. The main reasons are the philosophy of Linus Law, which actively states that the more eyes on the code, the more bugs will be fixed. The law is quite the opposite many proprietary software takes, i.e., security through obscurity.
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Securing your system through obscurity is a weak process and is not helpful in the total security of the system. The main objective is to get more eyes on the source code and fix issues before they are used by the hackers. To match, proprietary software has special teams to find a zero-day vulnerability and it means spending more.
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2. Visibility
Open source projects have one thing inherited, i.e., the source code is available to everyone surrounding us. And, visibility can really improve the chances of success.
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With hundreds of developers working on the project, adding new features, fixing bugs in a systematic and well-documented way can help it grow beyond the initial plans of the business application. With open-source, your business application can get the right visibility.
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In terms of marketing, you can also grab the attention of investors and media, who are always looking for the next big thing.
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3. Customization
Open Source's biggest advantage is customization. With free code around the internet, the developers can add comments and suggestions to the software.. improving its functionality and overall customization of the software.
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With the right set of tools and techniques, you can add as much customization as needed. You can also make your requirement public and developers who are interested in the project can help you achieve your target. Overall, both financially and technically, the advantage is with open source.
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4. Quality
The quality of the software under development depends on how many developers are working on the project. With proprietary software, only a handful of developers take part in its development. But with many developers working in tandem -- fixing things, bringing the new innovative idea on the table, implementing new features, the quality of the product under development is always of the highest quality.
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The quality here refers to the code standards maintained by the team, the unit testing, bug fixes, comments and much more. Overall, it is both internally clean and externally accepted by the users.
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5. Freedom
The basic idea of open source is freedom. The term is quite ambiguous for many of us and can have a different definition. But, open source is free in the true sense of the world.
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There are no hidden costs that are related to open source software. When developing proprietary software, there is a vertical lock-in that prevents free usage of the tools and techniques -- increasing the cost of the project considerably.
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Also, the progress of the software depends on the vendor requirements, rules and regulations and usage terms, which in turn can hamper the growth of the project. Open source improves this scenario and helps the organization to stay at the top of the things.
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6. Interpretability
Another big advantage of using open source development methodology is interpretability. With this, the company can work with other companies, the users, and computers with no clash at all. With interpretability, you do not have to work hard on extending your system to other platforms.
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7. Excellent Community Support
The support aspect of open source projects is quite amazing. A true example would be Linux operating systems that have a truly vibrant community and other tons of support items such as documentation, wiki, forums, and much more. Business firms can take a paid support route, but still, it is way less the proprietary software support. Overall, the only thing that wins is YOU.
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8. Cost
There is a debate on which path is more costly -- the proprietary software route or the open-source. But, the cost of open-source tools is free. With proprietary software, there are tons of hidden costs associated and might not be a good deal in the long run.
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Wrap Up
With clear requirements and a certain goal, any business organization can aim to use open source technology in developing an active business application. There is no doubt that companies should adopt open source technology and improve their Android business application with all the benefits listed above.