Open Source vs. Proprietary Software
- Details
- Created on Wednesday, 11 January 2012 17:24
- Written by Nick Cassidy
I have been developing and managing websites built with Joomla! for about 6 years, while working in the IT sector for a predominately Microsoft based solutions provider. I've seen the best and worst of both open source and proprietary software before deciding to nail my colours to the mast and start an exclusively open source website and internet services business.
There is still a place for proprietary software, but unless you have a very unusual requirement, I can see no good reason for not going down the open source route.
The default response from businesses used to be, and often still is, "I can't risk my business on free software." Rubbish, the internet largely runs on Linux, with most of those servers also running LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP), all open source products. Joomla! is now one of the most popular content management systems, running 2.7% of all websites in the world; there isn't a proprietary CMS that gets even close to that market share.
"Ah," I hear you cry, "but I need professional support". So does everyone that depends on their IT systems, and there is just as much SLA (Service Level Agreement) backed support for open source as there is for proprietary software, from companies such as Nanagram and thousands of others. And when it comes to community support, open source wins hands down. In terms of getting "locked in", open source wins again - anyone can pick up the code and extend the life of your investment.
I look forward to being a continuing part of this revolution as the economic model of the world's IT software and services community changes forever, and to sharing my experiences through this blog and Nanagram's Twitter and Facebook pages.