Is Open Source software an advantage versus Proprietary software?
Is Open Source software an advantage versus Proprietary software? It’s a great question we’ve been asked and I’ll try to address it below, but for starters we consider Real Estate Blogsites [in affiliation with Kinetic Knowledge / Kinetic Blogs] to be a comprehensive Business Blogging and WordPress Management Services company. We assemble, host & integrate agile ever- evolving WordPress blog platforms for our clients, who benefit from having some of the original WordPress development team managing it all. We also include 4 tiers of ongoing education, highly proactive customer service and then we also offer SEO- trained Ghost Blog writing services, image- based video tour build/ placement in YouTube, Traffic Analytics software integration and much, much more.
To further set this up, let’s define Open Source & Proprietary Software with the help of Wikipedia.org:
‘Open Source software is made available under license (or arrangement such as the public domain) and allows users to use, change, and improve the software. It is often developed in a public, collaborative manner. Someties free and sometimes not free, the aim of open source is to let the product improve, be more reliable or simply accessible, while still marketable.’
‘Proprietary software is any computer software with restrictions on use by its proprietors.’
But back to the core question[s]:
Q1: Is Open Source software, with a dedicated community of programmers, an advantage versus a Proprietary platform?
A1: It can be. With open source the obvious benefit is development cost efficiencies, but what’s also noteworthy is that you have many people solving similar problems. This way you don’t have to build everything from scratch yourself or rely on limited programming resources. There’s also the argument that Open Source solves problems in an open forum, rather than in a hidden one; therefore, it’s likely to be a very comprehensive and honest approach, free of most ulterior motives. According to Wikipedia.org, ‘Since Open Source software is open, all of the defects and security flaws are easily found. Closed-source advocates argue that this makes it easier for a malicious person to discover security flaws. However, most studies show that open-source software does have a higher flaw discovery, quicker flaw discovery, and quicker turn around on patches.’ And let’s face it, Microsoft has been hacked so…
Q2: Why would so many programmers dedicate themselves to an Open Source software platform?
A2: Well, for one they may be very savvy business people. By building and giving away great features or by solving problems for a popular Open Source software platform a programmer can generate exposure [potentially] to thousands. Many of whom may be business people so impressed they’d want to retain a reliable programmer for their own platform management or other interesting projects. There may also be collaborative opportunities in contract work arising from that same exposure and experience.
Q3: Is it simple to manage an Open Source software platform?
A3: This depends on what resources you have: to develop, host, maintain and evolve a leading- edge / reliable Open Source software platform there are challenges. Even for experienced IT people! Regarding Wordpress, there is more than one version. Officially there are two, but there are also a variety of open source variants and also variants of the original WordPress. Depending on which one you have, it may or may not have the latest coding update and/ or plugins, etc. These updates and plugin- features are constantly coming out of the community of Open Source programmers and are, in theory, manageable; however, manageable depends on you and/ or your resources. If nothing else, there’s a lot to know, to manage and to keep up with in an Open Source environment. Particularly if you want the most advantage possible in a competitive marketplace.
Q4: Is there a formal evaluation process for fixes, plugins and updates coming out of the Open Source community?
A4: Probably not, which means a business must either have experienced evaluation resources or retain them. Not to worry, there is a giant and dedicated community of programmers for hire.
Q5: Can a sophisticated business rely on a community of Open Source programmers?
A5: For great programming & features, sure you can! Based on our experience, virtually anything can be done; however, it’s unlikely any programmer would be accountable to the immediate service needs of a business without any agreed upon compensation. With software, most serious businesses need the accountability of immediate support when problems arise. In the case of a business blog platform, it’s a resource that has become ever- more crucial to marketing & public relations requirements. A sophisticated business should consider retaining experienced resources to leverage its’ advantages as well as those of the community.
Q6: Can Real Estate Blogsites handle my entire blog platform & service needs reliably?
Q6: Certainly we can and, as I mention above, we have some of the original WordPress development team on board. But, rather than take our word for it try John’s testimonial… “I had been blogging for some time using GoDaddy, which was extraordinarily cheap – $8 bucks a year for the domain and $4 a month for the hosting. Virtually no success had come from those efforts, so although the product was cheap, it was virtually a waste of my time & effort. They were able to import all of my previous data and articles into the new site and they designed the best blog layout for me! Great appearance and integrated links to my real estate website. Although pricing isn’t GoDaddy, the value brought forth by Kinetic far exceeds what you actually pay for. Traffic has dramatically increased; my skills and education have skyrocketed because of their education and leadership. Just like commissions, you get what you pay for. They will provide you with the professional appearance and knowledge to bring you successful results!” John Poltrock
Contributed bychris@kineticknowledge.com
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Comments
This is great information. A lot of people I know dont know the difference so its great to see post like this one to properly inform people that dont know. Great post chris. Thanks for the info.
Thank you Chris.
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