IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Fall 2013 - 42

Proponents of OS software [12]
also claim that it offers significant benefits compared to proprietary software that favour visible
features over harder-to-measure
qualities such as stability and security. OS software [12], [13] offers
greater security and quality, and
is also auditable. While closed
source software forces its users to
trust the vendor's claim for quality,
e.g., security, freedom from backdoors, adherence to standards, and
flexibility with respect to future
changes, OS software makes it
possible for its users to have confidence in these claims because
there is access to the codes. A
global community of developers contributes to and analyzes
the code, making it more secure
and of higher quality. Since users
have access to source code [12],
they can suggest bug fixes and
enhancements to the software to
eventually improve its quality and
make it more reliable, sometimes
exceeding the quality of software
produced by purely commercial
organizations. for example, while
Microsoft [14] took 200 days to
deliver a patch for a particular vulnerability, OS software undergoes
rapid bug and vulnerability fixes.
Scott McNealy, founder of Sun
Microsystems, recently argued [13]
that OS does not equate to a security hazard, stating "OS is actually
more secure because everyone can
look through it. There are far fewer
security breaches with OS code
than proprietary."
The OS community [2], [12]
also attracts bright, motivated, and
disciplined developers who are not
part of corporate cultures. Some are
the most experienced in the industry and are motivated by pride and
peer recognition. Programmers of
OS software [25] take full responsibility for the success of their work
and some have strong signaling
incentives. for example, a talented
system administrator [25] in a small
academic institution working on an
OS project may get the opportunity
42

to show his/her aptitude to peers as
well as prospective employers and
the venture capital community. The
self-gratification incentive for OS
contributors stems from a desire
for peer recognition, and the peer
review process drives excellence.
furthermore, when source code
is shared [26] beyond the secret
society of proprietors, a whole new
world with unimaginable technical
possibilities is opened. Contrary to
the popular belief that the proprietors of the secret sauce would lose
their pie, they actually get a slice
of a much larger pie, which makes
better business sense.
Barriers to Adoption of OS
Software
While the uptake of OS software
is increasing, there are still significant barriers [9], [18] for its widespread use:
■ A main concern is lack of
knowledge [4], [19] about OS
software. It may be difficult
for companies to find employees to maintain OS software
as most are only familiar with
proprietary software.
■ Some managers [4], [19] do
not trust OS software given its
maturity compared to proprietary software, or fear failure
while adopting new software,
which greatly reduces the willingness to move from proprietary to OS software. Some
companies even have regulations preventing the use of OS
software.
■ Aggressive
marketing [17]
by proprietary software companies who give away their
products make people hesitant
about adopting OS software.
People get used to the proprietary software and find the
transition to its OS equivalent
difficult. furthermore, many
people do not realize that
once locked into the proprietary software they will have
to pay for updates and other
services.

The feeling of lack of formal
support [14] is also a barrier to OS software adoption.
Users understand that the free
license is merely a fraction of
the cost of deployment and
maintenance of an application
and expect an improvement in
formal support for OS software. Although users have full
control over source code, they
want assurance that someone
will support them technically.
■ Many companies [19] have a
lack of resources, namely time,
money, and human resources,
for trying new technologies
and tailoring them for their
needs.
■ Many
enterprises [14] are
overwhelmed with patches and
handling vulnerabilities, and
with the consequences associated with introducing new
software into an infrastructure. The fact that the OS community is constantly updating
its software is a concern for IT
executives.
■ One of the most common
counter-arguments [12] for the
use of OS software is "who do
I sue?" in case the software
does not work. However, while
this argument seems plausible
in theory, all usual software
licenses explicitly disclaim
the responsibility or liability for anything more serious
than defects on the distribution
medium.
The above list is consistent with
an online study on barriers to the
adoption of OS software carried
out in 2011 by Smellems Solutions
[19], a company in Quebec offering
complete management of IT environments and providing solutions
based solely on OS software. from
the 153 companies invited, 56 gave
valid responses which are shown in
fig. 2. furthermore, according to
recent surveys [7]-[9] among vendors and IT managers ranging from
developers to executives, including
a survey in 2012 that had more
■

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

fALL 2013

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