Open Source: A Way of Developing, Distributing, and Licensing Software - page 4

Introduction

Working with open source and following the open source working methods will have some impact on the working methods and culture within your organization. Firstly, it will influence the traditional way of developing software by moving away from the "not invented here" syndrome, towards accepting a software that was developed outside your organization. Secondly, the Open Source community does not assume that the development is done in a single location. Using the same development tools as the open source community will also encourage your development group to work more closely together.

There are many open source strategies that can be adopted and customized to your organization particular needs. Below, I list three major strategies that are very common.

• Promote and encourage company developers to use Open Source software and tools in their development environment where those can meet their needs.
• Include Open Source software in products based on technical merits, the time-to-market (TTM) advantage Open Source software offers.
• Contribute source code, initiate projects, and be active in the Open Source community. For example, contribute enablers and software that is not valuable enough to keep proprietary or no margin product.

Once you adopt an open source strategy, the next important task is to communicate. Communication is a key issue. It is very important to properly communicate your company's strategy towards open source and towards your development organization.