Open Source GIS is a good and affordable alternative. Even if GIS is already embedded in an organization, it can be interesting to replace or expand existing GIS solutions with open source GIS, for example to avoid high license costs or to get more out of it qualitatively.
What is Open Source Software?
Software is Open Source software if the source code has been made publicly available. This is in contrast to Closed Source software, where the source code is often only accessible to the creator/supplier himself. With open source software, everyone can view and modify the code. A client is therefore not bound to the software supplier for making changes and improvements. In addition, a developer can better connect to the software if he can view the source code. If open source software is supported by a community, this provides even more advantages. In an active community, the software is continuously improved.
Advantages
It is not without reason that Open Source has taken off in recent years. The benefits experienced are:- better quality
- higher reliability
- more flexibility
- lower costs
- no forced dependency on supplier (vendor lock-in)
Free Software
In practice, much open source software is also free software (FOSS: Free Open Source Software). In addition to the open source character, the license of free software provides the freedom to use the program for any purpose, to distribute it and to improve it. Due to these freedoms, free software is often free of license costs in practice, but this is not necessarily the case.Licenses
Most free Open Source software is distributed under the GNU General Public License.Open Standards
Directly related to open software are open standards. Open standards mean that the specifications that the software must meet are publicly available. Open standards make it possible to seamlessly connect software from different developers/parties. In the Netherlands, the government has switched to open software and open standards since 2006. IDgis is a signatory of the Open Standards Supplier Manifesto, adheres to the Open GIS standards of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and conforms to the Geo-standards of GeoNovum.More Information
If you would like more information, please contact Herman Assink.
