Title:
Open Source
Integration
into Business Strategies
Abstract: Open source projects have enabled
many business establishments to take advantage of robust software at
low
cost. This is because open source software is one whose license allows
for
free modification of such software while the source code is available
in
a form of easy reusability. Open source software is usually not
patented
and does not readily support software patent.
Our earlier paper [1] discussed the various software quality assurance
activities
as specified by various standards organizations; ranging from ISO,
SPICE,
FURPS, IEEE, and some other quality standards and models that are
available
to be conformed to in ensuring the development of quality software.
Comparisons
were made to highlight the similarities and differences between
proprietary
software development and open source software development paradigms. It
was
discovered that proprietary or open source, they are both software but
the
licenses and the massive developer/user participation in open source
development
actually distinguishes the two paradigms. This paper discusses the
values of Open Source that can be adopted in business
development strategies borrowing from the successes recorded with open
source
developments. First we threw more light on the concept of open source
and
open standards. The interdisciplinary applicability of open source
approaches
were examined -showing that open source paradigm transcends the field
of
computing and ICT alone. The business values of the open source were
identified.
Various layers of open source developments were closely related to our
“Open
Onions Ontology” approach where we stressed the need to appreciate the
strong
bond of coexistence among open source developers and contributors. This
social
bond is the main reason of motivation for most contributors of open
source.
We have also pointed out the extent to which the open source
development
standards are being adhered to in open source development. Index
Terms—Open Source, Business strategies, Open Onions Ontology and Open
Source Interoperability.
Authors: Showole Aminat, Ali Selamat and
Shamsul
Sahibuddin