Quite often businesses view alternatives if products or services offer better Return on Investment. Open Source is one such option that is often debated in terms of better returns, lower operational costs and of course minimum breakeven time depending on the size of your organization etc. However, delving a little deeper into open source capabilities reveals great returns far beyond the initial investment in terms of time, investments etc and migrating to greener Open Source makes great practical sense. Some of these returns are subtle, some paradigm shifts from propriety sources but all effective and productive to every business. Here is a look at some of the top returns.
Return 1-Security over Vulnerability
Quite often propriety products too are prone to bugs (to error is human and all!) and could give rise to varying degrees of security lapses. OpenSource bugs are quick to detect, courtesy ‘Linus’ Law’ where every user is going to detect and attempt to remove the bug. You have no such fair warning that you are running a flaw on your system with proprietary products. Internet Explorer zero-day flaw is telling point on how closed-door bugs are not only difficult to plug but also long-drawn to patch.
Return 2-Quality over Mediocrity
With OpenSource advantages are you will find the exact computational solution for a vexing business issue, because they are developed according to necessities by thousands of skilled, technically perfect programmers. As they say might is stronger, thousands of minds on one single issue, the solution has to be mind blowing and spectacular. Comparatively a propriety product ideates in a few minds and is developed by a few hundred. Definitely, limiting and solutions are contained. The result is a mediocre product that not every business is going to find useful. Free linux apps are a telling example on how OpenSouce scores over limiting paid products.
Return 3- Exploring what you can Use
All you need are perhaps a few chosen distributions of OpenSource and you and your business are all set to handle that issue vexing your productivity. It is all there for you to see, experience, explore and stop using it, if that is not what you want ultimately. Switch to something new or simply pick and choose the capabilities you want and you are on your way to achieving the turnover you aimed at.
Out-loading a paid product/propriety product before it expires because it does not quite deliver on the parameters you want will only lead you further into proprietary land and you will find yourself topping earlier redundancies with a bundle of other products (paid of course!) to achieve the same set of delivery solutions you find with an handful of distributions.
This is not to take away the utility of proprietary products in today’s context. However, the point being made here is that, although OpenSource is the uglier duckling it is the beautiful Swan of tomorrow. This is simply because a couple of generations away more people are going to be tech –literate and almost all aspects of coding are going to be in OpenSource regardless of the immense investments proprietors make to safe guard and innovate their products.
