As the linuxfoundation states about 95% of cloud providers run kubernetes which is an open sourced solution, the Apache Web server powers millions of websites including netflix.com, spotify.com and more. Most of the Internets core functions are based on open source technology. But what is it and why is it so important?

What is open sourced software?

Open-source software is computer software that is distributed under a license that allows users to use, study, modify, and distribute the program and its source code to anyone and for any purpose. Open-source software may be created in a public, collaborative environment. Open-source software is a good example of open collaboration since it allows any skilled user to engage in development online.

Why open source?

There are several advantages to using open-source software.

1. Trust. One of the most important advantages is trust. As users can examine your code and make sure its not doing anything they don’t want it to. They are also able to change things they don’t like. Most cryptocurrency projects are open sourced to be able to develop trust with their community. dmonition type=tip title=“This is a tip” open=false >}}

2. Community A open source community allows more developers to build around the project . Bitcoin is the greatest example of such a community. As soon as bitcoin source code was published many utilities for bitcoin were made like wallets and more which would never have been made if bitcoin wasn’t open sourced.

3. Transparency Anyone can read your source code and see if they want it to do what it is doing. That way your company gains a lot of trust.

4. Continuous evolution Your project will continue to be developed even if you give up on it. Again the greatest example for this kind of project is bitcoin. Even though the founder of bitcoin has vanished for more than 10 years, cryptocurrency technology is “changing” the world.

5. Lower Development costs (For companies) You can reduce your costs by using open source software. You can save money on licensing and maintenance. The only costs you’d have to deal with are those for documentation, media, support etc.

6. Controll With open source YOU are ultimately in controll. If you dont like something you can modify the source code to your liking.

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