Open and Free Software

Open software secures control, independence and predictable cost

Open and free software is the foundation for control, independence and predictable cost, not a matter of ideology. Anyone allowed to inspect, adapt and operate the source code independently keeps ownership of their own IT, instead of handing it to a single vendor.

This page explains, from the perspective of an owner-led SME, why open and free software is the durable foundation of a long-term technology strategy: the distinction between open source and free software, the concrete business value and the trade-offs that honestly come with it. It is the shared starting point on which the in-depth topics build.

mindmap
  root((Open and free software))
    Sovereignty
      Data control
      Replaceable building blocks
    No vendor lock-in
      Exit path
      No licence trap
    Auditability
      Source code reviewable
      Longevity
    Governance
      Licences
      OSPO

The diagram shows the role as a foundation: from the free availability of source code and licence follow the properties that make IT self-determined, from sovereignty through the avoidance of dependency to the governed management of the licences in use.

Anti-Patterns: The Cost of a Closed Foundation

• Vendor Lock-in: Critical processes run on proprietary software whose switching costs are so high that changing vendors is practically ruled out.
• Recurring Licence Fees: Costs scale with the number of workplaces (per-seat) and rise with every contract renewal, without any added value in return.
• Black-box Operation: Without insight into the source code it stays unclear what the software actually does, which data it lets flow out and whether its security can be verified independently.
• Enforced Finitude: If the vendor discontinues a product, there is no way to keep running it yourself, and migration becomes an externally dictated deadline.

Open Source and Free Software Describe the Same Freedom from Two Angles

Both terms mean practically the same software but emphasise different motives. Free software puts the freedom of users at the centre: the right to run a program for any purpose, to study and adapt its code, to redistribute it and to share improved versions. Open source stresses the same open code from the perspective of the development model and practical collaboration. What matters is the shared core: source code that can be inspected, modified and operated independently.

Important is the distinction between free and gratis. Free means freedom, not price. A free solution may be offered commercially and backed by paid support; what defines it are the rights it grants. These rights are set out concretely in the licence, ranging from permissive models to copyleft. Which licence triggers which obligations is ordered by the licence catalogue.

The Business Value Lies in Control, Cost and Exit Freedom

1. No Vendor Dependence: The inspectable code and the right to self-operation prevent a single company from controlling a solution's existence. This removes the structural risk of vendor lock-in.
2. Predictable Cost without Per-Seat Fees: There are no per-seat licences that grow with headcount. Cost shifts from the licence to operation and maintenance, which the company itself controls.
3. Auditability: The open code can be independently checked for security, data protection and function. Transparency is a security gain here, not a risk.
4. Longevity: An active community or the right to keep running the software yourself ensures that a solution does not disappear with a single vendor.
5. Exit Freedom: Open formats and access to the organisation's own data keep the path to a different solution open at all times.

The same property that carries these advantages is also the technical foundation of digital sovereignty: freedom of choice is preserved. For a concrete system choice, such as CRM or ERP, the independent software evaluation assesses open alternatives and the exit path neutrally.

The Honest Trade-offs Can Be Managed

Open and free software is not a free ride. Choosing it as a foundation means taking responsibility for selection, operation and maintenance.

• Support Model: There is no automatic hotline with a guaranteed response time. That gap is closed by commercial support contracts, specialised service providers or in-house competence, backed by a deliberate choice of mature, actively maintained projects.
• Integration Effort: Building blocks have to be assembled into a whole, rather than renting a finished suite. Open standards and APIs keep this effort manageable and avoid new dependencies.
• Licence Governance: Which licences are in use and which obligations follow from them needs to be governed. An OSPO takes on this task, built and operated by Security, Compliance and OSPO as a Service.

These trade-offs are tractable when they are part of the strategy from the start. How a company gains further from the open community through its own contributions is deepened by OSS Strategy; how binding openness becomes in the public sector is shown by Public Code and SBOM. le dot itself runs entirely on open and free software, from the operating system to the applications, and provides this foundation as A-Team.

In Practice

An SME runs a proprietary CRM with a per-seat fee. With every new employee the cost rises, and a data export is only possible in the vendor's in-house format. Instead of renewing blindly, it evaluates neutrally: an open alternative covers the core processes, the data sits in open formats, operation runs on a commercial support contract. The per-head licence cost disappears, and the exit path stays documented and open.

FAQ

Is free the same as gratis?

No. Free means the freedom to use, inspect, adapt and redistribute the code, not the price. Free software may be offered commercially and operated with paid support.

Does no one carry responsibility with open software?

Responsibility is regulated contractually or organisationally, not abolished. Commercial support contracts, specialised providers or in-house competence take it on, often more reliably than a distant vendor hotline.

Do we then have to operate everything ourselves?

No. Open and free software can equally be obtained as a managed service. The difference from proprietary services is that the exit path stays open and no lock-in arises.

References

• Free Software Foundation The Free Software Definition. The authoritative definition of the four freedoms that constitute free software. (2024). www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
• Open Source Initiative The Open Source Definition. The criteria by which a licence qualifies as open source. (2024). opensource.org/osd
• FSFE Public Money, Public Code. The Free Software Foundation Europe's case for open software as the foundation of public and sovereign IT. (2017). publiccode.eu

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Related topics

• Digital Sovereignty, the self-determined IT that builds on this foundation.
• Vendor Lock-in, the dependency that open software structurally avoids.
• Licence Catalogue, the overview of licence models and their obligations.
• OSS Strategy, how contributing to the open community creates an advantage.
• Public Code and SBOM, open software as a requirement in the public sector.
• A-Team, le dot's open foundation, ready and replaceable.