Understanding Free and Open Source Licenses, Version 2.0
by Stephen Walli
19 May 2006
Open source software is more and more an alternative for large enterprises. Most companies already use open source software, starting with Linux and web servers, but also databases or complete infrastructure stacks to run their applications. Cost benefits, higher quality, and increased independence from vendors are driving factors for this trend. Often, however, CIOs and IT decision makers do not take open source software into consideration due to perceived risks involved. Concerns about legal issues and uneasiness about the involved licenses are mentioned frequently.
Understanding free and open source (FOSS) licenses is not actually difficult. Looking at the history and some of the more important developments allows one to assess the impact of using FOSS in the enterprise. Risks for an enterprise that is only using open source software are minimal or actually comparable to using commercial software.