Open Source != Free

This is the first post in a series on open source software. You can read the second post here.

One of the most common conflations I see people making is mistaking open source software for free software; both are not the same. Being free is just icing on the cake, the more significant advantage is the freedom and flexibility that comes with open source software.

Let us say you are an enterprise with millions of dollars that has built its entire product on a closed source database. Your business is now profoundly entwined with the success of the database company. What happens if the database company goes kaput and shuts down? You now have to replace the database. Depending on the complexity of the product and the business, this might take significant effort and end up derailing your entire business. Open source software severely mitigates this problem.

There is no concept of shutting down in open source world. Open source software development is inherently decentralized. In a lot of cases, committees govern open source software development. These committees have many stakeholders whose best interest is in keeping the software alive. Apart from this, many boutique firms provide development and maintenance services. All this leads to a robust eco-system that prevents a project from abruptly shutting down and taking you hostage.

Commercial closed source software reminds me of a famous line from the Eagles song Hotel California – You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. Once you are locked into a piece of software, it is not easy to get out. During pricing discussion, there is an asymmetry. As a locked in customer, it is difficult for you to leave, there is no BATNA. Open source software does not have this problem.

Having access to source code is a huge advantage. When I was building Kwery, I used Apache Derby as the database. I started seeing a weird bug in Kwery which lead me to tinker with the Apache Derby source and finally unearthing a bug in the Derby database. A couple of mail exchanges on the Derby mailing list confirmed this. If I did not have access to the source code, there would be no way for me to figure this out.

I am not saying that open source software is a panacea to all problems and that you should completely shun commercial closed source software. Each has its place but equating opensource software with only free is folly.

You can read the second post here.

Image credit: Photo by Adailton Batista from Pexels