Future of Open Source Solutions in the Enterprise

Summary

The market for open source platforms and applications has expanded exponentially in recent years. Inthis article some of the factors aiding open source solution’s acceptance in an enterprise is discussedalong with details about where the market is headed.

The Rise of Open Source

In recent years, Open Source has become a buzz-word for enterprise and individual users alike. Asvarious open source solutions continue to gain acceptance world-wide, enterprises are faced with thekey decision of - to deploy or not to deploy. In fact, many enterprises have implemented open sourcesolutions for use within the enterprise and the open source market is expected to witness 22.4% growthduring the 2009 to 2013 period. According to a recently published study, the open source softwaremarket is projected to be worth nearly US$8.1 billion by the year 2013. The rapid growth witnessed bythe Open Source Software market in recent years is at least in part due to the cost reduction initiativesimplemented by enterprises globally in the face of the current economic uncertainty.

Factors Driving Expansion of Open Source Market

It is worth noting that leading software vendors such as Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, Sun, Dell and IBM arealso deploying open-source solutions targeted at the enterprise. Even smaller software developmentcompanies are engaged in customizing existing open source solutions in order to enhance theircompetitive advantage in the rapidly changing enterprise solutions landscape. The current resourceconstraint has also led many software vendors to focus on pursuing a hybrid business model byproviding both open-source and closed-source solutions. This has also contributed to the growth of theOpen Source Software market. Such hybrid business models also feature various SaaS offerings and on-premises versions of software offered by the same vendor.

The Benefits of Open Source

Due to extensive user collaboration, bugs in the software including security threats are fixed faster,which enhances software security. Moreover, it is often claimed that the larger number of participants isalso ensures that the open source solutions are of better quality as compared to a solution which iscoded and reviewed by fewer people.

Apart from other commonly cited benefits such as the lower cost of open source software, additionalfactors, which influence the decision of an enterprise to deploy such apps include, reduction in thepossibility of predatory vendor lock-in, increased flexibility in development of software as well assuperior reliability and quality of the deployed software. In fact many an offshore software company iscurrently engaged in providing open source software, which benefits from peer review and featuressuperior transparency during the development and testing phases. Other benefits of open sourcesoftware commonly cited by users include lower deployment and maintenance costs as well as theincreased flexibility/reliability of the software.

In case of open-source software, modification of existing codes to introduce new features is a mucheasier task and most of the newly introduced features were incorporated because the users themselvesfelt a need for the particular functionality. Some users have also pointed out that open source softwareoften tends to be much less resource intensive as compared to closed source software. The support foropen-source is also free and readily available through numerous user groups and online communities.

The Limitations of Open Source Software

The coding of an open source application is freely available to all and this in itself is often cited as amajor vulnerability of the system. As anyone can view the coding and identify system vulnerability, thesecurity of the solution may be easily compromised. Though it is possible that such vulnerability will beidentified faster and updates would be available to resolve the threat, few enterprises would take therisk of secure data getting leaked. Another oft cited problem is the lack of accountability associated witha majority of the open source software. As multiple users collaborate to develop the solution, no singleperson can be held accountable in case the software malfunctions and results in losses/compliancefailure fines for the enterprise.

In view of such problems, many enterprises have engaged custom software development centers to useopen source platforms for developing solutions with superior security, which undergo rigorous testingprior to deployment on an enterprise network. Many an Offshore Software Development Company alsoprovides end to end services, which ensure proper installation, periodic addition of new features andregular application of security patches to the existing solution. Some argued that considering suchadditional expenses, the deployment of open source software may easily exceed the cost of deployingproprietary software. Though the jury is still out regarding this aspect of deployment/maintenancecosts, open source solutions are still popular among enterprises and the high rates of user acceptanceensures that the market will continue to grow steadily in the recent future.

The Final Word

Though both sides for or against open source deployment are not without its merits, enterprises areoften not in a position to choose an open source solution because of the risk of vulnerability, whereasmany SME-s would find the use of proprietary software to be cost-prohibitive. Thus, carefulconsideration of requirements is necessary to decide on the suitability of specific open source or closedsource solutions prior to their deployment on the enterprise network. It is also advisable for enterprisesto engage the services of a reputed software vendor or Software Development Company to ensureproper deployment as well as adequate support of such solutions in the post implementation phase.Though this does not resolve the debate about whether open source or closed source solution is moresuitable for enterprise use, the correct decision would help an enterprise optimize its investment in newapplications, while ensuring that its operations comply with all applicable standards both local as well asinternational.

The author, Abhishek Chakravarti has been writing for the IT industry over the past few years. He hasextensive experience in many a Software Development Company specially in the field of Open SourceSolutions. He currently writes for eXtendCode, Software Company in India.