Open Source : What do we get?

Open source software (OSS for short) is a great ideal. It is where the sharing of the source code could accelerate enhancement of software and made freely to the public. Sadly, this ideal will never be realized in this imperfect world. Like all great ideals, it is riddled with many cons as much as the pros that are expected.

Therefore, this article will discuss the pros and cons by exploring the characteristics of OSS. All software can be characterized with cost, functionalities, usability and sustainability. Cost is about the amount of development involved and how much the consumer is willing to pay for it. Functionalities describe the features and how the software would work. Last of all, sustainability looks at the backward compatibility and projected development of the software.

{Cost}
Pros: Source codes are like keys to programmers. By exposing the source codes, programmers can improve, modify and tweak any part of the software. This could reduce development time that translates into lower costs. As OSS is freely distributed, programmers are also able to use this software for their benefits. From this aspect, OSS is free to the extent of having the source codes.

Cons: Although the source codes are provided, there are hidden costs that do not come with the software. Programmers will have to be familiar with integrating open source with other proprietary software. Middleware might be needed in many instances. This gives additional cost. Novice users are also unfamiliar with the bugs and fixes that often occur in OSS. They also need to pay for customer support service or even documentation and manuals.

{Functionalities}
Pros: The functionalities of OSS are beginning to rival that to commercial software. This is because the global community of programmers and users have a hand in improving the software. In some cases, the OSS offers more functionality.

Cons: Being free comes with hidden cost. In similar fashion, functionalities bring about bugs and usability issues. Users will find the software patches a hassle in OSS. Those who are familiar with commercial software like Microsoft may not get used to the user interface of Open Office. This involves re-learning new software and incurring switching cost.

{Sustainability}
Pros: One of the greatest things in OSS is the continuous contribution and effort from programmers. Bear in mind that these programmers are improving the software at their own time and cost. They are not being paid in anyway. It is their passion that drives the growth of the software like parents watching their children. Thus, the development of software will be moving at an amazing pace with a large community as compared to commercial software.

Cons: On the other hand, OSS faces major issues in backward compatibility, project management and customer support. Can OSS sustain and compete against commercial software? As most OSS grows from contributions from online community, resources are limited. There is also a need to manage the long-term vision of the software. Customers would demand support and help in using OSS.

OSS is a great threat to commercial software. Commercial software companies never expect that source codes would be freely distributed. Although OSS is "free", users expect more than just the source codes. Documentations, manuals and customer support could incur the additional cost. Switching cost will also comes in the form of training as most users are used to the functionalities of commercial software. Hence, new way has been introduced in the form of commercial open source to address the cons from OSS. In this way, consumers could have the best of both worlds.