Open Source Software
Your systems
We leverage Open Source Software wherever possible. We don't just do this to save money, though it does. Or to speed up development, though it does that too. We do this because most development problems have a similar base and only differ in the details unique to your business.
With Open Source Software, we are able to rapidly create a base system that is both secure and stable. Then we can concentrate on your details. Your money is then spent on your problem, not reinventing work that has already been done over and over.
Development for specific purposes often require custom code for purposes that were not previously anticipated by the project. This is where Open Source Software shines. With closed source, you must go back to the vendor and hope that if you throw enough money at them they will make a few custom changes for you. Since we get access to the entire code base, with Open Source Software we are able to dive right in and create the custom code necessary to integrate your business process into the system.
Our OSS commitment
Wherever possible we contribute back to the Open Source community. We do this because we believe that this is the best way to encourage the development of these great applications that enable us to provide you with better solutions faster.
We contribute to the effort both by employing OSS developers as well as contributing code.
When we need to work with a project and need extra help, we always make an effort to draw from that project's community. Often this is one of the primary maintainers of the product. In this way we can both leverage expert skill as well as reward the developers that work on the software every day.
When we create custom extensions or code for a project, we will often try to contribute the code back to the project. We only consider contributing the code if:
- The code is general purpose and might be useful to other community members.
- The code is cleaned of particular references to your company or project.
- The code doesn't contain any trade-secret, patents, or other special business-specific items.
- You approve the contribution.
We would never release any code that had trade-secrets or business logic that
is specific to your project. Besides, this type of code is rarely any use to the community. If you have specific questions about this, please contact us.