Linux and Open Source: Why you want to use them.
By Ryan A. Dibble, Spring 2003
Linux and Open Source have made an impact in mass media and anyone working with information technology these days will have heard these terms. Few, however, understand why or how to properly leverage them during design and implementation. During many projects, the budget is smaller then one wants, but the project must get going. How? Using open source solutions of course. There are four main reasons why open source solutions lead to higher quality products and projects.
Security, Reliability, and PerformanceThe open source development model, one in which a large quantity of independent programmers, engineers, and ever hobbyists conduct "peer reviews" of the source code, allow more eyes to examine the nooks and crannies of the code. These peer reviews allows enhanced security. It should come as no surprise the agency in charge of guarding the United States' information, the National Security Agency (NSA) "…picked Linux so that the wider developer community could get its hands on an OS that provides a higher standard of protection of confidential information." [2] More than two dozen countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America, including Spain, China and Germany, are now encouraging their government agencies to use open source software. [1]
Reliability is a measure of the frequency and severity of failure. Through its use of a large quantity of qualified individuals designing, implementing, and testing code as a "labor of love" open source generates more reliable code than commercial products. This allows for better systems because tricky bugs are removed as found instead of waiting months for a patch.
Performance is a measure of speed, response time, throughput, and efficiency. One open source product, "The Samba open source file and print server outperforms Windows 2000 by a wide margin." [5] Another, Apache, an open source web server, continues to outlast and out perform competing web servers. IBM has chosen Apache as their base for the WebSphere product line and even Microsoft's Hotmail.com runs from Apache.
Cost
In most cases, there exists technically comparable open source and commercial solutions. The level of functionality is similar but open source costs less - a lot less.
First, cost saving can originate during software development. "One of the reasons this (open source) type of development saves money, proponents say, is that the developers will build on existing open-source components rather than start from scratch or use commercial software." [1] This supportability during the project allows for one to expand an existing product to meet the corporate needs rather then rework the entire application or system.
Since an open source has no licensing costs associated with it, rather then buying a commercial software package for $100k and paying a costly consultant $250 an hour to "configure" it for you (and you still won't get exactly what you like) doesn't it make sense to start with a free open source product and get it customized to your exact specifications? An example of this in action was with Amazon.com. "In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the e-commerce giant said it was able to cut technology expenses by about 25 percent, from $71 million to $54 million." [3]
These savings can be applied in two ways. They could also be reinvested in the project to get more resources, such as better hardware or a specialist, previously unavailable or they can be shown saved directly from the budget.
You can see how these savings have benefited companies, such as IBM, that have abandoned proprietary code for almost all general applications. "At IBM we are very serious about Linux and it is an integral part of our overall strategy and it runs on all our platforms." Last year Linux was a $1 billion business for IBM. [7]
What the Future Holds
The 280+ white papers and 9 case studies registered [10] clearly indicate Linux and open sources successes. In addition, predictions show that by 2006 Linux will be installed on 45% of all new Intel servers and by late 2004 Microsoft will start moving some of its application enablers such as .Net to Linux. [8] As more of the world realizes the unique benefits of open source software, general software will become a commodity.
While the strengths of the open source above satisfy most individuals and companies, the community of users that makes the key difference. Open source hands software control back to users who are free to experiment, develop, and expand their software world without the complex legal and financial constraints of proprietary products. In the end, companies benefit from tailor made solutions while reducing software costs.
References
Ryan Dibble is a Consultant for Dibble Group Inc. and lives in Ann Arbor, MI. Dibble received his B.S.E.E.E. and M.S. in Software Engineering from the University of Michigan. He is a member of HKN, IEEE, and the ACM. To contact him write rdibble@dibble.net.
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