| | October 20158CIOReviewCIOReviewWhy Open Source MattersBusiness today is all about adapting, pivoting and expanding quickly. Yesterday's IT processes are too unwieldy to succeed in the environment created by today's agile business requirements. Open source can reduce IT expenditures on licensing while decreasing development time. In contrast to proprietary software, open source solutions can be modified and adapted to meet the needs of a specific project. More and more enterprises see the value of open source ­ estimates vary but it is safe to say that more than half of enterprises are contributing to open source software and using it within operations. However, open source is about more than just demand. For a technology to explode, you need people to use it. We are starting to see a new crop of developers who grew up using open source methodologies to develop open source components. As these developers make their way into enterprise IT departments, they are bringing their familiarity with and desire for open source with them. IBM deeply believes that the future lies in open cloud and open source. We not only led the creation of the Apache Software Foundation in 1999, we have spent over $1B in the last five years developing and promoting open source solutions. We are seeing tremendous amounts of innovation come from open source projects. The momentum around open source is growing and the focus of many open source projects is on helping to solve the complex technology challenges that most businesses face today, such as how to work with big data and how to build the best cloud applications. Open source comprises a valuable set of tools and processes, helping IT respond more quickly to business challenges by giving staff a head start on coding. Making Open Source Work for the EnterpriseIn order to best leverage this head start, enterprises need to go about open source the right way. An enterprise requires more than just access to open source software components in order to field a successful open source development program. Components must be properly vetted, not just to make sure that they are well-written and do what they claim to do, but also to make sure that they are secure. A successful open source development program requires, finding quality open source components and feeding them to a development staff that can work with them. It is not just about the tools but also about the process. It starts by building an awareness of the value of open source and how to work with it. On top of that awareness add community tools, developer tools and a process that encompasses the enterprise development shop and the community as a whole.The development process is changing and a new model is taking shape. Enterprise developers do not just search for open source components, download them, and The Crown Jewel of Enterprise DevelopmentBy Dr. Angel Diaz, VP-Cloud Architecture & Technology, IBMOpen Source ­opinionin my
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