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Enterprise software license costs can often eclipse the cost of the hardware it runs on; software developers and customers want alternatives. Developers and business stakeholders also want to realize the software dream of fully reusable software above the object, component, or service level - reusability at the application or system level. Open Source has proven that it can reduce license costs (Linux, MySQL, Apache) and provide a great starting point for building systems (OFBIZ, HTTP Client, ZOPE).
However, Open Source software, for all its benefits, has some risks. The components typically have documentation, support, and usage that are incomprehensible to all but the most technically savvy. It is for the most part a do-it-yourself environment. Open Source licensing is also an issue to manage. Without proper understanding of the various licenses and how to incorporate them, companies and developers can end up with all of their IP in the public domain or be in violation of another's IP.
At Augmentum, we have extensive experience in Open Source development. First of all, we use Open Source products for as much of our own tools and infrastructure as possible. Second, we have a large portfolio of client development projects and augmented client teams currently working on Open Source.
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