Why talk about open source? “Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much,” the famous statement belongs to Helen Keller, one of the most inspiring figures of the 20th century.
Collaboration is a core component of modern businesses, and over the years, collaborative efforts have led to some of the world's most revolutionary innovations in technology, medicine, and engineering. The opportunities are seemingly endless when people come together to work together.
But what if this collaborative ethos expands to include almost every human being on earth? Are there limits to what can be achieved?
That’s the question open source initiatives are trying to answer, as they aim to forever change the way businesses think about technology and collaboration. Without open source, many of today’s leading technology initiatives – from cloud computing to mobile operating systems – simply wouldn’t exist as we know them. In the enterprise world, software, for example, OpenStack – a popular, open-source cloud computing platform – is changing the way organizations manage multiple cloud deployments with new levels of innovation, efficiency, and simplicity.
The ability to call on the entire world to continuously improve a product or technology is no longer a dream, and it is starting to happen. Does it herald a new era of innovation?
It will harness the power of collectivity
Gone are the days when developers worked in complete isolation with limited resources. The development room has opened up to the world.
Since the source code is freely available to the general public, almost anyone with knowledge – from hobbyist programmers to full-fledged research teams – has the opportunity to play with it, change it, and continue to improve it. As open source projects like OpenStack gain momentum, the pace of innovation accelerates, and thanks to growing global networks of experts, products are being developed at an incredible pace.
It is fully customizable
One of the biggest advantages of open source initiatives is that as long as the vendor makes the source code publicly available, users are free to do whatever they want with it.
Organizations – unbound by licensing and restrictions – can change the code in any way they wish, adapting it to their unique needs. They can then share this knowledge with others for further development.
It has an unlimited scope of applications
Traditionally, collaborative efforts have been limited by constraints, such as geographical boundaries. People need to be in the same physical proximity to work on projects, and such boundaries significantly limit their scope.
Open source projects, especially those involving software, are not bound by these limits. All they need is the source code and an online forum to communicate their changes and knowledge.
It can make the world a better place
Some of the most famous open source projects to date have shown that these initiatives can indeed help improve the world.
In a recent example of how open source philosophies have been embraced by major industries, electric car manufacturer Tesla took the bold step of granting its patents to other automakers (including its competitors) “in good faith.” The opportunity it gives people to analyze and improve Tesla’s technology could be a huge boost for the auto industry — and the environment, as the wider adoption of electric vehicles aims to reduce emissions.
Making the world a better place is based on innovation, and collaboration is one of the key ingredients to achieving this goal. Open source methodologies, and collaboration, are an integral part of this universal push for innovation.
The article was published on ZDNetby Harish Pillay.
