When your business uses open source code, but you aren’t a coder yourself the process of creating original, modifying or contributing to code might seem complicated. But, whether you’re the CEO or CFO, you understand that your organizations’ IT workers adopted open source software for sound reasons such as cost efficiency, security and quality.
Who are the developers behind the game-changing business tools that you use to augment your organization’s productivity? Behind each platform lays diligent, open source community members whose dedication to innovation has provided you with the best-in-class technology you utilize day in and day out.
A recent survey conducted by Stack Overflow can help us glean some interesting insights into the lives of today’s code developers.
For example:
- 25 percent of developers have more than 10 years of coding experience
- 48 percent of respondents are self-taught in coding
- 70 percent of coders spend 2 or more hours outside of work coding as a hobby; but the average developer spends more than 7 hours per week coding on the side
- 64 percent of developers who use community websites such as Stack Overflow truly enjoy providing answers and guidance to their fellow coders who use the site
In looking at these statistics, it is clear that open source developers are a dedicated community who love to code both professionally and for pleasure. In addition, the open source community is just that—a community in the fullest sense of the word—comprised of a comprehensive support system and willingness to lend a hand to new members or to people who simply want to learn more about open source.
It is clear from this survey that open source software is much more than just your business’s means of communicating, aggregating data, etc. The open source software that you use was made with careful attention to detail, by a community driven by purpose and passion.