Red Hat has been predicted to be the first company to reach $1 billion in annual revenue in 2011 with an open source focused model. This is an example to show how important is open source software and the fact that it has become an essential component in all software development. Open source is so very important now that it touches us every day more than we actually realize. A recent Netcraft survey places the open source Apache share of web servers at 57 percent. Linux OS, which is more popular on servers than on PCs, has been estimated to have 1 percent of operating system market share including both servers and desktops.
There are costs associated with maintaining open-source software and training employees on how to use it. These services can be purchased from commercial open-source vendors in annual subscription. Many IT giants like Oracle, IBM, Fujitsu, Intel, Hitachi, and many others collectively pumps hundreds of millions of dollars into developing Linux.
It is through web-based applications that open source software helps us the most. Every click on the Internet is processed in some way by open source. The attraction of open source to enterprises is the marketing model. Commercial open source software is allowed to be downloaded and used. But when someone needs support or features for connecting the product to the world of commercial IT, a license is required. So, one can say that open source is bought and not sold.
By making it to hit the $1 billion mark, Red Hat’s success is the best example that IT has embraced open source. It is not just Silicon Valley startups or cutting-edge innovators who uses open source, but it has become a significant part of technology. Not merely the financial aspect that influenced the corporate world to incorporate open source software but that they have realized that open source software is nearly on par with commercial software. Automated Software Inspection (ASI) provides a quality check for open source software. Sustainability is another good thing about open source software because with this everyone wins in a business sense. Open source also shares some common qualities such as a sense of community, transparency and open standards.
Open source software has gained a decisive momentum. As open source software demands only an investment in human capital, which is a cost that can be controlled by the organization itself rather than a third party, its anticipated popularity is beyond predictions. In an era of fast transformation from a PC-centric world to a mobile/cloud based future, open source platform will gain more attraction and open source software will have more significance.
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