How Open-Source Software is Flexing its Power

Editor’s note: Is there a connection between open-source and delivering value in the “connected economy?” Definitely, says Chris Latterell, VP of marketing at software engineering company Open-Xchange. Like his company’s flagship product, OX App Suite, open source is people centric and responsive. In this interview he discusses game-changing open-source trends.

SandHill.com: What are some of the comments your company is hearing from potential customers regarding open-source software? What business problems are driving them to open source?

Chris Latterell: The Internet continues to drive new industries and connect value chains at exponential rates. Open-source software (OSS) allows development teams to rapidly address this phenomenon benefiting greatly from having a diverse community interested in the development of the solution, not just one vendor.

This allows, for example, for peer review from a base of knowledgeable and expert supporters. These communities are invested in the quality of the software, not necessarily invested in making a buck from every feature improvement or addition. This is an important benefit often overlooked.

Costs in this context are actually driving business to not only search for non-proprietary ways of remaining agile but also to find and implement them at healthy rates. The main issue of IT deployment in virtual and remote environments has disrupted the entire IT industry to such an extent that the IT administrator is discovering more work in the HR department vs. “just” the data center...