Open source code creation opens the door for IT developers across varied industries to adopt, modify and customize technology to their organization’s specific needs. Companies are free to contribute to and adopt code so long as resources—such as intellectual property software audit services—are applied to ensure that the ground rules established by the code’s originator are acknowledged and followed.
Due to its availability for modification or enhancement, open source software is at the crux of technological creativity and ubiquity today; tinkerers and brainstormers are encouraged to join in on its development at their liberty. So, how does this flexible process of idea generation lead to adaptable technology? The following “building blocks” of open source innovation outline the process:
- The originator: Simply put, open source code starts with a curiosity dreamt up by a software developer. From this spark of an idea the code formulates.
- The ground rules: To share the code with the open source community in an organized and legally sound way, a license is set in place. This set of ground rules protects the developer’s intellectual property rights.
- Opening the floor: Once the code’s license is laid down, the code can be released to the open source community. From there, developers build and modify the code in a collective process, in which contributors are inspired by the use cases of their fellow innovators.
- Putting the code to work: Organizations, developers and programmers are free to customize code to suit their creative thirst or business needs. For instance, open source code is present in the imaginative applications we use on our smartphones each day. As well, businesses can modify code to strengthen their big data analytics technology.
The building blocks of open source are simply the framework from which unlimited evolution will be born. Learn even more about the open source process here.