What is open source software (OSS)?
OSS is freely-distributed software that allows anyone with computer programming experience to change its code to suit their individual needs. It is said that the source, or workings behind the program, is open. This differs from proprietary software like Microsoft Windows, for example, which cannot be edited. What’s more, most OSS won’t cost you a penny.
The California-based Open Source Initiative, which issues licenses for approved OSS, makes sure all software complies with a strict ten-point checklist.
One of these requirements is that the software has to be free to distribute in every sense of the word. That means nobody should be restricted from selling or giving away the software and royalty fees do not necessarily have to be paid to the program’s original designer.
Most importantly, the source must be included with the software in a way that can be easily edited by other programmers around the world. This means that companies and their sub contractors can modify whole programmes to suit their individual needs. Contributions and amendments can be made to computer games, e-mail clients and even entire operating systems before they are placed back online for others to download and make use of.
“OSS puts the control back in the hands of the owner of the equipment,” said Linux developer and outspoken opponent of software patents Alan Cox. The heavily-bearded programming legend told the busy Westminster eForum that propriety software was like mobile phones, which, by design, prevent users from automatically getting the best deal.
“No one has ever made a phone that takes two SIM cards,” he told the audience of MPs and developers. Cox, who now works for Linux distributor Red Hat, believes using OSS is like having a choice of every network and tariff, all at once.
The benefits
If you are a regular internet user, the chances are you have used an open source website in the last few days. Google, arguably the world’s biggest IT brand, is based entirely on open source software. The runaway success of other open source web ventures like Facebook, Myspace and Wikipedia adds to a growing belief that OSS is where the future lies.
Because OSS is usually free to download, free to edit and doesn’t require a license to run (even for large companies), there are significant savings to be made by those brave enough to make the transition from traditional proprietary software.
A practical example of the financial benefit of OSS lies in the case of Specsavers, the UK-based chain of opticians. In 2003 – and after 25 years of growth – the company had 500 stores, virtually all of which were in the UK and Ireland. The company’s aptly bespectacled CIO Michel Khan and his team were tasked with doubling this to 1,000 stores worldwide in just five years.
“We developed a strategy to deploy fully-scaled retail structures anywhere in the world,” Khan told the attentive forum.
Using open source software across its computers, servers and hubs, Specsavers has already managed to acquire 970 stores – with months to spare. While the firm does still use paid-for proprietary software, the majority of its IT processes are now carried out with freely-distributed software like Java and Linux.
The popular online directory Yell.com is also said to have made huge savings by switching to OSS for its operations in the UK and the USA, and even educational authorities are reportedly looking at the software as a cheaper alternative to the pay-per-user solutions offered by propriety vendors.
Indeed, experts agree that it is not just the private sector that could enjoy such boosts in productivity. Open source software supplier Alfresco called on the British government to change its approach to software to realise potentially massive efficiency savings.
But the government, which spends GB pound 12.4bn on its IT systems every year – and claims to have a neutral policy towards software procurement – seems to have been reluctant to embrace this ‘community-built’ software. Trevor Pegley, the founder of IT firm Visionhall, thinks concerns over risk are doing nothing to help.
“Non-proprietary software from a small vendor is seen as a risk, and risk is to be avoided at all costs,” he said.
But some experts believe that the transparency of OSS (in that its code is visible) can actually improve security. Tristan Nitot, founder of Mozilla Europe, the company behind open source web browser Firefox, said users and the programming community can check software codes for any weaknesses that would otherwise be invisible on proprietary software.
Reluctance and disadvantages
Risk, inertia and ignorance were all cited by experts at the forum as reasons for the UK’s apparent reluctance to switch to OSS. The disadvantages, however, seem few and far between and are often cancelled out by the huge savings and advantages offered. Some do exist though, and they may go some way to explaining why – in the UK at least – there is a continued unwillingness to convert.
OSS developers need to make a living and will often charge customers for technical support and advice on how to use the freshly-edited products. Then, there are problems with integration. Users may face difficulties running certain programs on open source operating systems and have problems transferring files between applications. And there is the maturity issue. Although open source software has been around in various forms for some 40 years, it is still regarded by many as an approach very much in its infancy.
Many companies, let alone government bodies, are reluctant to make the switch because they have grown complacent with the proprietary software they have used for years – and they believe that the financial outlay is worthwhile if it means they can avoid learning how new OSS works. The others, who simply do not know OSS exists, are probably Microsoft’s favourite customers.
And this is where many advocates of OSS speak up. They believe that by making the switch, productivity and profits will undoubtedly rise and that software giants can be stripped of at least some of their power. They believe that ignoring OSS is, for the UK, tantamount to technological suicide.
A grim situation
The OSS situation in the UK is grim. Alfresco, which supplies software for three of the world’s top investment banks, only makes 5% of its annual revenue in the UK. A recent study found that nearly half of all local governments in Europe are using OSS to help their operations and the UK is lagging well behind, with less than a third using any at all.
It seems respected technology journalist Glyn Moody was right when he summarised the morning’s forum. “Open source and the ideas behind it are now essential to the world around us,” he said.
Perhaps the success of Specsavers, Facebook, Wikipedia and the long queue of British firms waiting to jump on the open source bandwagon will be enough to convince the public sector that OSS really can improve the way we do business with computers.
