British businesses open their eyes to open-source software

Matt Hampton, chief technology officer at Imerja, discusses the advantages of open source software for businesses

The popularity of open-source software is increasing around the world and across industry sectors. The US is leading the way, with 87% of American companies using it within their technology infrastructure, but the UK is catching on fast.

In response to a recent survey three quarters of senior technology executives said their organisations' IT strategy will include open source over the next five years. So, what is the attraction of open source, and why are so many companies turning to it as an alternative to closed-source (proprietary) programs?

The source code of open-source software is freely downloadable, meaning it can be modified by a number of developers and these modifications contributed back to the community. As a result, there can be vast numbers of people working on the source code, allowing it to be updated more regularly than closed-source software. One of the best known examples of open-source programming is Wikipedia, in which both the encyclopaedic content and the software are collaborative.

The price of licensing business application software on every computer in a company can be very expensive, and costs can be significantly reduced by using open-source software. Many programs, such as Open Office or Mozilla Firefox, can be downloaded for free, while others come at a considerably lower price than their closed-source peers. The nature of open source means that paying for the latest upgrades can also be a thing of the past – because the source code is being constantly edited and improved by the community, all costs are shared between the end users.

But perhaps the most impressive benefit of open-source software is the fact that it often performs better than closed-source programs. Open source tends to be the choice of the more technologically minded users, and any issues with the source code can be ironed out promptly. More importantly, this is a huge advantage in terms of security, as the large team working on the project is likely to come across any areas of weakness sooner, meaning it is generally able to close loopholes considerably more quickly.

Fortunately, for the less technically minded the usability of open-source solutions has improved greatly in recent years, with individuals and organisations developing friendly and familiar looking interfaces that allow users to enjoy the functionality and benefits open-source has to offer without having to get their hands dirty with the code.

Imerja has recently launched Imerjamail, an email security solution it has developed in house that uses a combination of commercially available and open-source applications to block more than 98% of all spam, including viruses, Trojans, worms, unsolicited marketing and phishing messages. 

With Imerjamail the processing is moved out of the corporate network, which can significantly reduce both bandwidth and resource costs. Its open-source capability means that it constantly evolves and adapts to identify and block the latest threats by applying a point scoring system to each email scanned. Itprovides criteria against which the user has full control to set thresholds to allow, block or quarantine messages. Also, being infinitely scalable the solution can expand as required with minimal cost to the business.

Such a cost-effective and flexible approach to software is particularly beneficial to start-up and growing businesses that experience significant outgoing expenses in their early years of development. Not only is the cost of licensing removed, but the business also has instant access to an online community working to ensure the security of the software. This is a huge benefit to a business whose reputation could be ruined by a breach of security or the compromise of valuable data.

Businesses can enjoy a number of benefits by switching from closed-source to open-source software. Open source allows a flexible, value-for-money solution that can, over time, outperform many similar, more expensive closed-source applications. It can only be good news that British companies are following in the footsteps of their American counterparts and embracing open-source software.