“Think free as in free speech, not as in free beer.”
- Richard Stallman

OPEN CHOICE

BOLD POSSIBILITIES

What started as a revolution

decades ago is now a preeminent source of innovation. Today, open- source software offers a rich, reliable, and well-supported path that gives operating system and software application vendors, device manufacturers, and service providers the freedom, power, and choice to build and deliver revolutionary solutions—faster, better, and at lower cost. Competitors become collaborators, technology discoveries are shared, and interoperability becomes a guiding principle.

In looking back over the meteoric rise of open source as a force in the computing industry, the world’s most iconic companies have tapped into the power of open source to establish businesses that likely could not exist without the freedom and creativity that open source grants its proponents. In turn, these businesses have reaped the rewards of this unique model.

By leveraging open-source software as a platform to build their own solutions and deliver additional value to their customers, forward-looking companies have realized substantial rewards. These companies are reshaping the marketplace and forging bold new possibilities through imaginative product and service offerings.

The Facebook data center in Prineville, Oregon, takes advantage of the key benefits of open source: innovation, flexibility, and cost optimization. Powered by custom Intel® server boards and open- source components, the center handles a torrent of data from 800-million-plus customers (and it’s still growing rapidly).

Innovation

Through the energy and ideas of a worldwide talent pool, the pace of innovation quickens and technology breakthroughs emerge— from the evolution of the Internet to the explosion of social media and new models around big data.

Flexibility

Access to source code makes it possible to craft customized solutions from proven open-source components that effectively meet very precise and detailed customer requirements. This level of flexibility unleashes the creativity of businesses, enabling them to construct solutions that are as unique as each individual business.

Cost Optimization

In a recent survey , 70 percent of enterprise end users cited lower TCO as a key driver for Linux adoption. And cost optimization escalates as businesses grow.3 Without open source, imagine how costs could have inhibited growth of the Internet and the massive server farms that power Facebook, Google, Amazon, NASA, and Twitter.

Big Opportunity
According to IDC, for every dollar spent on the Linux* operating system, there is a 30 to 40 times multiplier effect of related software investments, resulting in a market valued at nearly USD 60 billion dollars. ¹ By building their solutions atop a solid foundation, progressive businesses can grow existing markets and reach new customers.
Value of Community
The Linux kernel represents a monumental achievement of the open-source development process, an effort that focuses the energies of more than 1,000 individual developers from over 200 companies—as well as many independents—all contributing to its development.2 As a result, the pace of innovation accelerates and good ideas are quickly turned into exceptional solutions that transform industries.
Open source is More than Linux
Open source extends well beyond the world of Linux. Open-source-based solutions can be found for most platforms, including Microsoft Windows*, Solaris*, and Macintosh* OS X*. For example, the open-source Mozilla Firefox* browser, the world’s third most widely used browser, runs on all major platforms.