My take on the situation.

First, to ensure we are all on the same foot, lets define Open Source and Close Source.

Open Source is some product, whether that is software or hardware, that is made available with the full possibility or intention for the user to make changes.

Close Source, also called proprietary, is some product, whether that is software or hardware, in which any modification or changes can been seen illegal and can be subject to legal action.

Now lets make one thing clear. Open source does not negate the ownership of the original product or copyright but allows the user to modify the original to suit their needs. Also if someone, other then the originator, is so inclined they can contribute to the open source project.

Second, so why do I, and possibly you, care. Well, some of our customers have brought up questions why we don’t go with the big names in technology. My knee jerk reaction is that we do go with the big names, just we try to stick to open source first. This is for a couple of reasons:

1. We are able to modify the enter item here to suit the customer needs
2. The risk is using proprietary enter item here other than what is was designed for is high
3. Usually open source has little to no cost which save you as our customer
4. I believe in that information should be shared
5. Close source is limited.

For the big reveal, open source is more secure by default. I am not saying that it’s always more secure. There are a lot of closed projects that have really good teams working on security, but can you really beat millions of eyes on a popular open project? I don’t think so.

• opinion
• open-source
• close-source