Importance of Open Source
Why is Open Source Crucial for Business Software Development?
- An open source software license is free of charge
- Source code is made available to the receiving party, so they can improve or modify it
- Enables rapid software development by putting very few restrictions on the use or distribution of source code by an organization or user
- Open source technologies are maintained and supported by an active community of volunteers
The best software development partner helps you identify the right open source technologies and tools that can make your software simple, scalable, and user-friendly.
Tools & Frameworks
Open Source Programs Commonly Used in Enterprise Software Development
- Python
- Golang (Go)
- Java
- C#
- C++
- JavaScript
- Kotlin
- Ruby
- R programming
- Swift
- Hadoop
- Apache Spark
- Apache Cassandra
- MongoDB
- CouchDB
- HPCC Systems
- Kafka
- Redis
- PostgreSQL
- MariaDB
- TensorFlow
- Keras
- PyTorch
- OpenCV
- Scikit-learn
- Caffe2
- Theano
- RNN
- Microsoft Cognitive Toolkit
- Amazon SageMaker Neo
- Cloud Foundry
- OpenStack
- WSO2
- Stackato
- Alibaba Cloud
- Cloudify
- OpenShift
- CloudStack
- Tsuru
- AppScale
Searching for the right set of open source tools or services is like deep-sea exploration. Only an expert software development consultant can simplify your hunt.
Use Cases
Types of Business Applications Developed Using Open Source Tools
- Web and mobile app development
- Custom software integrations
- Web portal development
- eCommerce solutions
- Content Management Systems (CMS)
- Software migrations, customizations, and updates
- Customer Relationship Management Software (CRM)
- Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP)
- User interface & experience (UI/UX) design and development
Benefits
How Open Source Technologies Benefit Custom Software Development?
- Offer topnotch tools and services to customize your software product quickly, so it could meet your business-specific needs
- Most of the well-known programming languages and technologies are open source, which means you have plenty of community support to fix bugs or perform any kind of troubleshooting
- Allow software developers to use or modify the source code since everything is publicly accessible
- Make it easy for you to build flexible, scalable, and user-friendly software applications that your users will love
- Provide technologies to automate your routine processes and tools for in-depth data analytics, so you can take your services to the next level
- Help leverage the latest technology advantages that will give you a competitive edge and also significantly improve your line of products
- Aid developers working with the software by providing thorough documentation and large databases
- Offer seamless compatibility across several platforms and frameworks, ensuring ease of integration, testing, and maintenance
- Bring more transparency into the entire custom software development lifecycle
Open source technologies and SDKs expedite custom software development in numerous ways. Your ultimate success, however, relies on the expertise of your software development outsourcing partner.
Pros & Cons
Pros & Cons of Using Open Source Technologies in Software Development
Pros
- Allows faster security updates and vulnerability fixes
- Lowers vendor costs by providing free licenses
- Minimizes the risks related to vendor lock-in
- Offers more flexibility through customization
- Gives more flexibility and control over your software
- Offers access to a vast pool of open source tools to choose from
Cons
- Minimal compatibility with proprietary formats, protocols, or standards
- Security flaws, cyber risks, and vulnerabilities
- Developed and managed by volunteers who are not liable for any faulty guidance or mistakes
- Legal issues related to the use of copyrighted materials
- Lack of vendor support or roadmap
How They Differ
Open Source vs. Commercial Software Development Kits (SDKs)
Open Source SDKs
- Licensing fee is either zero or minimal
- Prior development experience is required to ensure better usability
- Support from active online communities, forums, and blogs
- SDKs organically evolve over time through community contributions
- Need to contact the administrator or community support to update and maintain the software
- User incurs licensing and development costs
- Usability is a key feature
- Backed by quality documentation for immediate reference and a dedicated customer support team
- Highly stable SDKs with well-defined product roadmaps
- Regular maintenance and frequent releases by the vendor to improve software functionality
Client Stories
Leveraging Open Source SDKs and Toolkits to Develop Custom Software Solutions
1. Customizable Course Mapping & Pivoting Application
Fingent assisted Substantive Solutions, Inc. to develop a customizable course mapping & pivoting application for addressing compliance issues related to educational programs and also helped them render learning requirements in a simple and comprehensive manner by leveraging several open source SDKs.
- High scalability and integration capabilities leveraging web, cloud, and mobile
- LTI integration - Interoperability with other education platforms
- 60% reduction in cost and effort spent on course management
- Important open source SDKs used: Angular, PHP Laravel Framework, MySQL
2. B2B eCommerce Platform for Procuring Medical Equipment
Fingent assisted Kogland, a leading B2B supplier of medical equipment and consumables, to develop a customized ecommerce platform for procuring healthcare equipment faster and easier. The platform is powered by some of the leading open source technologies.
- Standardized pricing without the involvement of middlemen
- 200% increase in web traffic from targeted customers
- 50% increase in conversions
- Open source SDKs used: Apache, MySQL, PHP, Zend Framework, HTML5, CSS3, jQuery, Require JS, Knockout JS, and Composer
3. Integrated Day Camp Management Platform
Camp Mohawk, our customer, reported a 15% increase in customer satisfaction since they started using the custom iOS and Android apps that we’ve developed for them. Leveraging open source SDKs, we also helped them develop an integrated camp management platform to streamline their daily operations.
- 97-99% average camper satisfaction reported
- Significant increase in web traffic recorded throughout the camping season
- Administrative dashboards, messaging, and collaboration features
- Open source technologies used: PHP, JavaScript, Android and iOS programming languages