Open-Source Software vs. Proprietary Software

Open Source Software

PROS

• Free to Try Before You Buy

Community open source is completely free to anyone to download, including source code, for

evaluation. Even COSS vendors usually have a free version of their software packages, which

includes source code. In fact, much open source software, especially OSs, are available as “live”

media, which means you need not actually install the software but instead run it directly from a

DVD or USB flash drive

• Free Support

Whether an open source package is being evaluated or integrated commercially, it has the

same global community of users and developers available for asking questions and advice.

Support includes detailed documentation, forums, wikis, newsgroups, email lists and live chat.

None of this costs anything except time.

• Open Standards

Open source communities are leery of proprietary standards, preferring instead to adhere to

open standards around communication protocols and data formats. This aspect meaningfully

improves interoperability within and between open source and proprietary software

including OSs, which in turn means a high level of interoperability for business and customer

applications as well.

• Fewer Bugs and Faster Fixes

Because large open source software projects can literally have millions of eyes examining the

source code, there is a much higher probability that more bugs are exposed compared to

the code from a proprietary vendor with a far smaller development staff. Furthermore, open

source communities are typically quick to implement a fix or report a workaround. Additionally,

since the source code comes with the software, customers are free to apply their own patches

at will.

• Better Security

A side effect of the above point is that open source software is more secure overall. Since

the security of proprietary software vendors depends to some extent on their source code

being opaque, it does not follow that security bugs are not present in their software. It is more

probable that the security holes have simply not been found yet.

• Avoids Vendor Lock-In

Except in the case of COSS, there is minimal reliance on a single vendor or group for continued

improvements, maintenance and support for open source software. Additionally, since the

open source community is distributed and diverse, there is little risk that you will end up

holding orphaned software, which would be the case if the proprietary vendor were to fold or

abandon their project.

CONS

• Reduced Competitive Advantage

If an enterprise is also a software vendor, then building products on open source code affects

the revenue model for the enterprise’s software depending on the open source licensing

agreement. Also, an organization’s core competency could be partially diluted if the value

of the proprietary code built on top of the open source platform is not enough to offset the

lowered barrier to entry of competitors that could build a similar product on top of the same

open source code.

• Minimal Support Leverage

Large open source projects have a vast, supportive community that provides documentation,

tools and support systems to back up users of the software. Free support is not always the

fastest support, however, especially if the enterprise is seeking a solution to a thorny problem

resulting from seemingly random code bugs, design flaws or integration difficulties. Larger

enterprises with the ability to pay for top-tier support packages can expect prompt and

detailed attention that is rarely available from open source communities.

• Usability

Open source projects, even COSS, are complex packages of software that are not as closely

aimed at markets of unskilled end users as is much proprietary software. Unskilled users will

never look at the source code let alone compile it. This aspect explains why open source

Apache Web Server is the leading deployment in data centers, but desktop Linux has barely

penetrated the PC market where alternate, easy-to-use products already exist that do not have

to compete based on high performance metrics.

• Increased Business Risk

Aside from Red Hat, large financially strong open source software vendors are few and far

between. Although great products may come from smaller, more nimble companies, there is a

significantly higher risk that they will not be there when you need them the most.

Proprietary Software

PROS

• Usability

Commercial, proprietary products are typically designed with a smaller scope of features and

abilities. They are focused on a narrower market of end users than those products developed

within open source communities. Commercial vendors’ users may include developers utilizing

a firm’s APIs and libraries, but they are just as often to be composed of application users

more concerned with ease-of-use and functionality than how those aspects are accomplished

behind the screen.

• Product Stability

Proprietary software vendors must, if they are to survive, maintain tight control of their

product roadmap. Their products are designed from the start to nurture a long and prosperous

future with many paid upgrades along the way. Putting aside the arguments that proprietary

software can become stale if not re-architected at regular intervals, in general it exhibits a

stability that often exceeds that of open source software.

• Ownership

A company building upon proprietary software may pay a bigger fee for acquisition, but

typically that acquisition includes full rights to the ownership of their own software product

and the expectation that the vendor will promptly supply them with updates, bug fixes and

revised documentation as new product versions are released.

• Tailored Support

Customer support packages from larger closed source vendors are specifically designed

and fine-tuned for their own products over many years. Since the scope of their software is

typically narrower than that from open source projects, training and after-sale support is more

complete, accessible and succinct. There is a huge difference between posing questions in

an online open source forum compared to receiving support directly from technical reps or

consultants from a proprietary software firm, especially at integration time.

CONS

• Dependency

Customers of closed source software companies are more or less at the whim of where their

software supplier wants to take them. They have minimal influence, unless they are their

number one customer, of influencing the vendor’s priorities, timelines and pricing structure. To

change vendors once their software has become embedded within your enterprise is likely to

be prohibitively expensive.

• Software Opacity

By definition, the internals of closed source software are closed to viewing. Users of this

software are unable to modify the code let alone debug it effectively. They are only able

to supply error codes, messages and dump stacks to the vendor and wait for a fix if there

is no existing workaround or patch. Such fixes may not be anywhere near the top of their

priority list. This opacity also means that it is usually more difficult for customers to make

customizations or optimizations in their final product.

• Software providers carry the never-ending burden of upgrading their products. 

This means they need to invest heavily in keeping up with, or ahead of, the industry. Naturally, these costs are passed onto the user.