Open Source Software - Comparison With Closed Source

Comparison With Closed Source

The debate over open source vs. closed source (alternatively called proprietary software) is sometimes heated.

The top four reasons (as provided by Open Source Business Conference survey) individuals or organizations choose open source software are: 1) lower cost, 2) security, 3) no vendor 'lock in', and 4) better quality.

Since innovative companies no longer rely heavily on software sales, proprietary software has become less of a necessity. As such, things like open source content management system—or CMS—deployments are becoming more commonplace. In 2009, the US White House switched its CMS system from a proprietary system to Drupal open source CMS. Further, companies like Novell (who traditionally sold software the old-fashioned way) continually debate the benefits of switching to open source availability, having already switched part of the product offering to open source code. In this way, open source software provides solutions to unique or specific problems. As such, it is reported that 98% of enterprise-level companies use open source software offerings in some capacity.

With this market shift, more critical systems are beginning to rely on open source offerings, allowing greater funding (such as US Department of Homeland Security grants ) to help "hunt for security bugs."

This is not to argue that open-source software does not have its flaws. One of the greatest barriers facing wide acceptance of open-source software relates to the lack of technical and general support. Open-source companies often combat this by offering support sometimes under a different product name. Acquia provides enterprise-level support for its open-source alternative, Drupal, for instance.

Many advocates argue that open source software is inherently safer because any person can view, edit, and change code. But closed-source software—and some research—suggests that individuals that aren't paid to scrub code have no incentive to do the boring, monotonous work.

A study of the Linux source code has 0.17 bugs per 1000 lines of code while proprietary software generally scores 20–30 bugs per 1000 lines.

Ajzen's theory of planned behavior explores the link between attitudes and behaviours. According to a pilot study of organisations adopting (or not adopting) OSS; several factors of statistical significance were observed in the manager's beliefs in relation to (a) attitudes toward outcomes, (b) the influences and behaviours of others and (c) their ability to act.