Abstract:

Open source projects have enabled many business establishments to take advantage of robust software at low cost. This is because open source software is one whose license allows for free modification of such software while the source code is available in a form of easy reusability. Open source software is usually not patented and does not readily support software patent.
Our earlier paper [1] discussed the various software quality assurance activities as specified by various standards organizations; ranging from ISO, SPICE, FURPS, IEEE, and some other quality standards and models that are available to be conformed to in ensuring the development of quality software. Comparisons were made to highlight the similarities and differences between proprietary software development and open source software development paradigms. It was discovered that proprietary or open source, they are both software but the licenses and the massive developer/user participation in open source development actually distinguishes the two paradigms. This paper discusses the values of Open Source that can be adopted in business development strategies borrowing from the successes recorded with open source developments. First we threw more light on the concept of open source and open standards. The interdisciplinary applicability of open source approaches were examined -showing that open source paradigm transcends the field of computing and ICT alone. The business values of the open source were identified. Various layers of open source developments were closely related to our “Open Onions Ontology” approach where we stressed the need to appreciate the strong bond of coexistence among open source developers and contributors. This social bond is the main reason of motivation for most contributors of open source. We have also pointed out the extent to which the open source development standards are being adhered to in open source development. Index Terms—Open Source, Business strategies, Open Onions Ontology and Open Source Interoperability.