Software – Open Source conquered the world – Süddeutsche.de

• Open source software is much more than a hobby for hobbyists.
• Large companies have ceased to foreclose and take part in many projects.
• Some security problems can just be resolved by the openness and transparency of open source software easier.

From Helmut Martin-Jung , Hanover

What have Twitter, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Walmart or Ford in common? They rely on open source software. Open Source, so called programs whose original code everyone can see. Long ago, this openness has prevailed in many important areas opposite of proprietary software.

giants choose to attend Open Source

Even Microsoft, the largest software maker in the world, has now recognized that it is better for him not to foreclose against open source. But rather to ensure that its own software as smoothly as possible cooperates with it. Just recently, the group has gone on our own developer conference build again another major step in this direction.

While this knowledge in the technology world is already one of the truisms, but seeing many in open source software still always programs that are cobbled together from amateur developers at play. But this is, at least for large projects such as Linux or Apache have long not more so. The software has rather established as a base, which is used by many companies at the same time. This deal for specialists that drive the development in collaboration with their colleagues from other companies. The software to write alone, would be far too expensive and the company would not apart from the competition.

Open-source programmers as process controllers

But that’s not all, will Peter Ganten even software entrepreneur, is the head of the Open software Business Alliance Germany. This includes many smaller companies, but also big names such as IBM or the German Telekom. His mission: “Open source can solve many problems of digitization,” he says. For example, the security: “In the IT security can only exist if as many independent parties can look at the code.” Of course, open source programs could not guarantee per se security, “you have already also do right. But if you do it right, it is also very safe.”

Programming errors are fixed faster

Since software will written by men, there is even in open source programs mistake Ganten concedes, but “you will eliminate much faster.” Especially because many of its users have an interest in that problems are resolved quickly. In the proprietary world, however, there is only one manufacturer, “in some of them there are certain problems for ten years”.