Benefits of open source software are plenty despite what many critics say against it. First of all, when you say open source, this is software created for the benefits of everybody. The boon it is free! To understand more the benefits of open source, it is best to do a comparison first with commercial software. For commercial software, what are more focused on are the features and those that users can see. An open source however still does well with the features but does better with the organizational factors and their quality.
With commercial software, you are guaranteed with good visual capabilities. This is because marketing is given more emphasis by the software’s development. The factors that are centered on by open source include those not readily apparent. One of these factors is reliability. If there are any defects or bugs in the software, these are addressed speedily and corrected efficiently. The end product of an open source would then be more dependable to function well.
Another factor among the list of benefits of open source software is stability. Working software is not something that would get old. So, software vendors, in order to keep their profits coming, employ tactics that would force customers to buy new software. Such tactics include ‘upgrades’ or withdrawal of support. With open source, consumers need not be forced to get the upgrades. Since open sources are published for all to see, those concerned can really see if the software is what it claims. Open source then is more auditable than commercial ones.
Aside from these, open sources has also more freedom and flexibility compared to commercial ones, which users are forced to trust it as it is. There are also a lot of accountability and support for open sources. These are the benefits of open source software!
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