The Case for Open Source in Business

There’s a common misconception that open source is charity work — something you do in your spare time for the good of the community. While the community aspect is real and valuable, open source is also one of the smartest business strategies available to technology companies.

Trust through transparency

When your code is open, your users can see exactly what they’re running. This builds a level of trust that no marketing campaign can match. In an era of increasing concern about data privacy and security, transparency is a competitive advantage.

Better software through collaboration

No team, no matter how talented, can match the collective intelligence of a motivated open source community. Bug reports, feature suggestions, and pull requests from users who are building real things with your software make it better in ways you couldn’t predict.

Hiring and culture

Engineers want to work on interesting problems in the open. Companies with strong open source presence attract talent that values craft, transparency, and impact. It’s a signal that you take engineering seriously.