Free Software - Open Source Software

 Open source software (OSS) is ready made software that is produced for distribution to the general public. The use of open source software can be an alternative to in-house or custom software development and is primarily motivated by the reduction of software development time and costs.

 The nature of widely distributed applications makes them as generic as possible in order to enable the largest number of people to use them. Some off the shelf or open source applications can make a good foundation from which to add your own functionality and customizations.
 
 Open source software is freely available in source code form, that is provided under a software license that permits users to study, modify, improve and contribute to the development of the software. Open source software is often developed in a public, collaborative manner. A report by the Standish Group states that adoption of open-source software models has resulted in savings of about $60 billion per year to consumers.
 
 There are some very stable and powerful open source software applications that have many contributions, including plug-ins and components that extend the basic feature set. 
 
 Some examples would be :

• BlogEngine.NET
• Apache (Web Server)
• Linux
• PHP
• FireFox (Web Browser)
• WordPress
• MySQL database
• phpMyAdmin
• Gimp(Open Source Graphics application)
• phpBB

  These are all very good, solid applications that have been in development for years with many contributors.
 The list of freely available open source software applications is extensive and a free open source alternative exists for just about every category of commercially available software.
 
 The development of open source software is typically motivated by the creation of elegant solutions, rather than money, which we think makes for a much better application. In many cases the free open source version software is better that what you could afford to buy. Customization, the addition of your own functionality and features can give you the best of both worlds.Lower development costs, quicker implementation time and the exact functionality and features that you would like to have, built upon the solid foundation of a well tested application.

Please contact us to learn how much you can save by adding your own features and customization to an open source software application.