Benefits of Open Source software when - Essay Example

Benefits of Open Source software Benefits of Open Source software How open source works The developer of a particular software releases the software together with its source code to the public. The software can be used as it is or it can be modified to meet specific needs (What is Open Source Software?, 2013)Current data of apache with recent adoption ratesAccording to The Standish Group International, Inc., the number of servers running open source software has increased tremendously since they are considered to be superior, reliable and secure.

The open source software running on this servers are mainly apache and Linux operating system (The Standish Group International, Inc., 2013). The chart below shows this trendBenefits of open source when used in private language schoolReliability: Open source software are considered to be reliable. This is attributed to the fact that they are peer reviewed software. The use of this software has proven to be robust and reliable under extreme strenuous conditions. Apache server, being one of the open source software, is more reliable as compared to Microsoft IIS.

The data showing the comparison between the reliability of Apache, which is usually run on Linux operating system, and Microsoft IIS which is run on windows operating system is shown belowSecurity: Open source software use is safe and secure. Considering the fact that the development of open source software involves a diverse community of programmers around the world who are working towards a common solution, the chances of security flaws being in the code are minimal and in case there are any, they are quickly fixed.

The ultimate solution of any institution running online service is security. Open source software is suited in this setting since it’s more safe and secure as compared to the proprietary software. Low Initial Cost: The cost of acquiring and deploying open source software is low as compared to the closed source software (What are the risks and benefits of using open source software, 2010). Thus, it’s more advisable to use open source in institutions to minimize costs while at the same time maximizing output.

The figure below shows the percentage savings on users running open source software.Fast Development Speed: Open source software undergoes agile software development process. Agile software development is known to fasten the software development process (Anon., n.d.). Also, considering that the community of open source software is huge, the development time of any given software is short. This increases the development speed as compared to closed source software. This is the case with apache server which is can be deployed quickly to serve various purposes.

Interoperability: Open source software have the ability to work together (What are the risks and benefits of using open source software, 2010). Apache server is known to run perfectly on Linux operating system. Both of this are open source software.