The thing about open source software (OSS), is ……
We don’t really know what it is and we fear what we don’t know.
Let’s face it, software itself is an enigma for many people. Just when we think we are getting to grips with it as being something semi-tangible that sits buried in the bowels of our computers, we find that it has grown wings and is now magically following us around with our handheld devices. Not only that, but we find it inside all of those ‘things’ which we once believed were part of a separate field of human and mechanical experience, like washing machines and automobiles. With the help of the internet we now have software that resides at the ‘edge’ wherever that may be. Daunting to say the least. But perhaps not quite so daunting as those combinations of software that have decided that they can actually replicate the very computers that spawned them and live happily together in a ‘virtual’ computer somewhere over the rainbow in a cloud.
No sooner than we have begun to get our heads around the cloud, so to speak, along comes AI. Now we have software designed to take software and software development to another dimension altogether. The year 2023 will no doubt go down in history as the year when the LLMs – Large Language Learning Models for those who momentarily checked out of the barrage of news feeds – hit the public consciousness and self-learning software systems were ready to demonstrate their market potential.
Given that kind of background what on earth (or in cloud) are we to think about the pros and cons of OSS? What does it even mean to use OSS or to deploy OSS in our business when so much of our business is now conducted in the midst of this strange new environment?
This is where MasterOss comes in. Shining a light on these and other complexities.
Then there’s the stigma. Once upon a time, certain very well respected software people chose to describe OSS as a virus. Not an endearing epithet to be saddled with in this day and age to be sure. Notwithstanding a change of heart among most of the early OSS detractors, there is the lingering tendency of lawyers and software experts to talk about the ‘viral’ effects of certain OSS licenses. This was a handy way of explaining a particular contractual phenomenon that was at that point unknown in the world of copyright and proprietary software licensing. Unfortunately, it stuck and has hung around in the shadows – as emotionally charged metaphors are inclined to do.
The truth of the matter is that OSS is benign. So benign in fact that it has become ubiquitous in just about every industry sector imaginable. If you are using software systems at all in your business you are more than likely using a decent proportion of OSS.
Yes, there are risks associated with OSS just as there are risks associated with people occupying an office building or handling money transactions: health & safety compliance programs and internal controls have become so much a part of corporate life that people move about in offices and conduct transactions of all kinds (even with the added complexities of software) without so much as a thought.
So why the hang up with OSS? Why are there still so many folks in companies large and small who express discomfort around the topic?
It does seem that OSS angst comes in many shapes and sizes depending on where in the organization you are sitting. Here are just a few hypothetical situations that might resonate:
Maybe your company is concerned about the speed or direction of its ‘digital business transformation’.
Maybe you personally are struggling with your organization’s reluctance to endorse your OSSembracing R&D vision and product road map.
Maybe you wonder what prevents your developers, engineers and IT experts from being the best that they can possibly be in today’s fast changing world.
Maybe the question of supply chain integrity makes you increasingly nervous in these days of ubiquitous software and open source code.
Maybe you are providing a tech service or product and wondering why your business customers are making you jump through more and more hoops with their procurement contracts.
Maybe you are questioning whether and how you will be able realize your investment in the tech start-up or OSS project you have created or sponsored.
MasterOss is here to help with all of these and more.
There are valid concerns behind all of the above. After all OSS embodies a paradigm shift that is uncomfortable for the old-style corporate mindset. As with most things in life, fear is a key factor: fear of losing competitive advantage, fear of losing control, fear of disputes and lawsuits. With OSS it is easy to see how, as with software itself, these fears can intermingle until they become an undifferentiated cloud.
The question is should this fear be holding you or your organization back from engaging wholeheartedly in something which conceivably embodies a larger dose of the freedom to create, spirit of trust and unity in endeavor than we find in any other aspect of our lives.
Our mission at MasterOss is to provide this perspective.
Your mOSS team
