There’s been a debate going on over the Internet for an age and a half, whether it is the Open Source to go with or Proprietary Software. The debate seems to be never-ending since opinions on both are divided.
Splitting the world in two, the controversy looks to have no clear end since both critics and fans have balanced views on the subject. It is interesting to note that both Open Source and Proprietary Software have their fair share of advantages and limitation.
Where heavyweight vendors such as IBM and Microsoft have made a huge empire based on the proprietary software, on the other side – open source has its own market. Speaking of which, there are countless admirers that support open source.
PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE
“Factual motivation and significance”
This is a kind of code that belongs to an organization or a single individual. It is competitive in nature and allows a user to have full assistance while working in an organization, government sector, non-profit body, and at home.
Planned scheme for generating revenue.
Software development takes both time and a remarkable skill-set. The question is, how can you make money from it? If you are a top-notch computer giant, your main source of revenue comes from the overall sale of your product.
However, it makes you stay in a spot where you need to be competitive and prove you are the best seller. Why would a customer buy your computer when he has his friend bought a computer from another brand already?
Obviously good marketing strategies and brand trust play a huge role in this context. Speaking of brand, Microsoft is a huge software & tech giant that generates massive revenue through Windows and Microsoft Office.
Focused vision and planned direction.
Not only it is easy to determine the financial plan when you are the owner of an established Closed Source software company, it is easier to establish the direction as well. It’s only you and your people in the organization that has a say on the shape of the project.
Working behind the closed doors in private enables you to experiment in revolutionary ways, without any fear of someone manipulating your prototype. You can also work on projects for ages and not let anyone criticize your slow progress.
Ubuntu is known to abandon its most recent product (next version of Unity Interface) on Linux after spending ages developing the software. Even though the organization got criticized hyping their product release but in the long run, it didn’t affect the company’s progress.
Encourages the development of more software.
When you visit a store, you may take a look at the software on display. Chances are, most of them are the closed or proprietary source. It could be anywhere from virus scanners to operating systems to video games.
Closed source views their programs as products and because of their exclusivity and unique features, people buy them. This buying endeavor encourages the development of more software. The best examples in this context are Google Play and the Apple App Store.
A number of proprietary apps and other products are displayed on their portals for users to buy.
Open Source.
The term Open Source in its own essence has a vast significance and is available for free on the Internet. Its source code can be modified and recreated by the programmers and its implication can be customized with regards to a personal preference.
“Factual motivation and significance”
Open source has your best interest. Whether you are using it for home purpose, as a non-profit NGO, small business, big corporation, or as a government body – it will never let you down.
Shifts your developing endeavors from low-grade to high-productivity output.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that, the easy problems you had before are solved now because of the free features available on this platform.
Whether it is the blogging you talk about, or the content management that displays on your work desk – with Open Source program it is all done with a great ease.
While your extremely efficient developers could spend time reinventing a required wheel, the open source community has already perfected it long before. It is wise to use the world’s best wheel that comes at no cost at all.
This way, you can free your developers from unnecessary toil and assign them problems that are yet to be solved and are far more challenging in nature. These challenges could be unique and would add value to your organization if given an absolute resolution.
Less pressure on the capital.
As compared to Proprietary and Closed Source alternatives, the Open Source yields low on the total cost of ownership. Choosing an Open Source software, generally costs you nothing or less on a lower up-front.
Since an Open Source wheel comes at zero or low cost, it shifts the capital expense on a lighter note. This way, it keeps you from putting more money on a licensed software.
On top of that, you are saving huge money that you would spend on customization and implementation while operating on a licensed platform. The additional costs such as; support desk, training and maintenance are the sunk costs.
Whether or not you are going with the licensed platform or the Open Source one, sunk costs are going to stay unaffected. What makes the Open Source interesting is that you’re not paying a single penny for rights of the implicit intellectual property.
The future is in the hands of Open Source.
An Open Source application is more than just a Published code. You will not find a single Open Source project that entails rigid and outdated developing work philosophy.
It isn’t a fad. It is a way of conveying a trend that how modern companies are innovating and developing software. It becomes far more challenging to put solid facts forward that supports Proprietary alternative in the future.
Instead, experts believe that the future is going to be more collaborative and less closed with regards to the technological landscape as a whole.
AND THE WINNER IS…
a recent survey shows that around 80 percent of businesses around the world have embraced open source over proprietary software. Price is one of the key elements why organizations are sticking to the open source.
Open source offers superior security as compared to its proprietary companion. Also, the quality is the foremost reason why the commercial use of the open source has been increasing. Since quality is the biggest reason, eight out of ten businesses prefer to go with the open source platform.
Given that, a software package is developed by thousands of developers – the chances of possible bug formation is almost negligible. A vast majority of users and developers continue to improve the quality and sustainability of the product.
These contributors not only innovating new features on the open source software but also enhancing the overall performance. Also when it comes to bugs, they get fixed almost instantaneously.
On the other hand, a proprietary-software system has its own advantages. You get a clear shot at having troubleshooting service from the software company at any given moment. As mentioned above, they have exclusive features that an open source platform unable to provide.
On top of that, it requires extraordinary skills, time and efforts to build these programs. Speaking of which, Call of Duty is one of the best first-person shooter franchise ever released by INFINITY WARD Studio.
The VFX and Anti-Aliasing are some of the complex features that only a skilled developer can code. Also, they are associated with thousands of jobs that are connected with the project. And if you talk about software, Microsoft has its lion’s share in the software market.
It enables its users to have exclusive services and features that an open source platform, fails to provide.
FINAL VERDICT.
Both open source and closed software development have their fair share of limitations and advantages. Having the right kind of software is quite crucial to run a business effectively in a global market.
You are generally given two roads to choose from when it comes to selecting a software platform for your corporate business. Whether it is about creating a website or developing an application for the Android platform – it’s up to you which road you want to go ahead with.
If it is the proprietary source you choose to go with, you have the trust assurance of the brand and exclusivity of the features, developed by their proficient developers. On the contrary, an open source platform offers you more freedom.
It enables you to explore your potential without needing to purchase a license. If you talk about the security, it is simply superb. If you select to go with the closed source, you wouldn’t get the flexibility of the open source platform.
If your priority is flexibility, then you must sacrifice the exclusivity that only a Proprietary-Software platform offers. Therefore, it’s totally up to you which one do you consider for a winner.
