What is Open Source?
Open source is a development method for software that is supported by communities of developers and contributors. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and rapid deployment. To be considered as open source software by the software development industry, certain criteria must be met:
- The program must be freely distributed.
- Source code must be included.
- Anyone must be allowed to modify the source code.
- Modified versions can be redistributed.
- The license must not require the exclusion of other software or interfere with the operation of other software.
Fenix and Open Source
Over the past several years Fenix has successfully helped to develop, integrate and deploy web solutions for clients. During this time, we have dealt with dozens of commercial and free content management systems, information systems, communities, e-commerce and blogging tools, in addition to custom built software.
In our experience, the main stumbling block with most of the commercial software we've worked with is that inevitably a client will have a need that a particular piece of software does not provide, or a combination of needs that no piece of software on the market offers in a single solution. While custom developed solutions are always an option, they are also the most costly and time consuming. The "best of both worlds" in this scenario is to leverage an existing open-source solution that offers the closest fit, and then filling in the blanks with custom developed modules, plug-ins and/or extensions to mould the solution to your organization's specific needs. To determine if an open source solution is right for your organization, we've put together this resource.
Learn How Open Source Software Can Help Your Organization
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