If you are building applications or software, you would inevitably come across the debate of open source v/s enterprise open source, which is a better fit for your enterprise, what are the pros and cons, and other queries. While both bring their own advantages to the table, this article will help you gather some facts on the adoption of enterprise open source and how it can transform your organization’s digital goals. Shall we?

What is enterprise open source?

The difference between open source and enterprise open source?

The growing importance of commercial / enterprise open source

Top benefits of Enterprise Open Source

To summarize

In simple terms, Enterprise open source is an open source software backed by enterprise quality, support, security, and software life cycle management.

The term “enterprise open source” is also commonly known as commercial open source.

While community open source and enterprise open source are different, yet complementary to each other; the key difference lies in the standard support and services that come with enterprise open source. 

Open-source software is developed by the community with rights to use, study, change and share the software in a modified and unmodified form. Learn everything about open source and how it’s aiding today’s digital deliverables. 

As a generation, we are experiencing a massive digital transformation wave today, which brings along its own challenges to enterprises for their mission-critical applications. However, thanks to the technology acceleration guided by open source and otherwise, businesses are able to keep pace with the growing demands of an ever-evolving IT infrastructure and consumer patterns.

As per the Red Hat survey, 90% of enterprises have already shifted to enterprise open source, and 95% of the IT leaders are convinced about the significance of enterprise open source.

Ashnik’s Enterprise Open Source Industry Survey 2020 reaffirmed the trend, as 91% of the respondents considered enterprise open source to be the future of organizations.

By the looks of it, it is safe to say the question is no more “if” commercial open source should be part of your enterprise open source strategy. The question we need to ask is “What” and “How.”

Confidently switch to open source

Enterprise-level support

Superior quality software

Lower costs

More secure and reliable

Better integration

The decision to switch your technology stack is no small matter and may require a lot of critical thinking by the decision-makers. However, with so many open source technology options available, enterprises can easily get overwhelmed without the proper consultation related to the solution design, transition, and services support. That’s where commercial (enterprise) open source scores a goal.

With the help of relevant enterprise open source services, you can identify the best technology stack for your enterprise IT infrastructure strategy, smooth migration procedures – all suiting your technical requirements and budgets. Commercial open source services can extend from consulting, technical help, migration, training, and management, making open source more accessible for organizations, big or small. 

Today, all this is, of course, doable with open source, too, if you can get a reliable open source provider for all your consulting and services needs. 

Every business runs on some mission-critical applications, just like yours, which will end up requiring a support team in real-time for any technical glitches or failovers or a software malfunction. While the developer community of any open source software is reliable and efficient, receiving immediate help may be difficult at times, owing to the fact that there are no service obligations or no 24×7 support provided. It’s an enormous risk. This is where onboarding an IT solutions provider experienced in open source technologies can be your best bet. 

Alternatively, organizations opt for commercial open source solutions backed by enterprise-level support by domain experts who can ensure the application’s smooth functioning.

With all the benefits you get from the open source community, it may sometimes come with a potential downside: lack of enterprise-ready quality because of the lack of standardized processes in quality control and sufficient qualified code reviewers. With commercial open source, the companies bringing these technologies run ample tests, tuning, and troubleshooting across different hardware, configurations, and applications, to enhance the code’s quality. 

The biggest reason for the fall of proprietary or legacy software was the high investment cost in licensing and support. In addition, the lack of flexibility and innovation became contributors to the list of hurdles. However, with enterprise open source becoming mainstream now, most global organizations are choosing it for its enterprise-readiness, agility, scalability, and sophistication in capabilities at a much lower cost compared to proprietary software.

Enterprise open source is tested and hardened for enterprise usage. With enterprise-level support, it backs enterprises with all the support and services at the time of unexpected rundown time. However, it’s the stability and reliability that stand out with enterprise open source. Because of its structured lifecycle, there is a constant stream of receiving enhancements, security updates, and bug fixes. As a result, 60% of respondents in Ashnik’s survey also rated enterprise open source more secure. 

The Open source community may offer several choices for a robust web server, database, data pipeline and streaming….You name it! Open source projects exist in large numbers for these solutions. However, what if you want to make all this work in conjunction? And that too for years with proper support and services? That’s where enterprise open source may come handy. Enterprise open source consulting services could help you identify the best open source technologies that work together for your IT infrastructure, making your open source adoption effective.

As open source has changed how companies use technologies today, enterprise open source has also been a significant addition by providing the much-required support and services.

Most of the success stories of open source adoption speak about how enterprise open source compliments open source, mitigating risks associated with open source projects. Therefore, the sweet spot is to have a “mix of both,” which was even confirmed by one of Ashnik’s survey responses by top IT decision-makers and thought leaders.

Open source is the future, and if your business wants to leverage the best of open source technologies, Ashnik has helped over 200 large enterprises with open source solutions and services – be it community or enterprise/commercial. 

We have fitting solutions for your open source goals, whether it’s the technology stack, consulting needs, technical help, migration services, or training. The world of open source awaits you! Let’s get started.