More enterprises are turning to open source software (OSS) to reduce costs,
improve efficiency, and extend their competitive advantage. The core
technologies chosen by organizations often persist for decades, so decisions
that IT leaders make today are bound to affect their organizations’ ability to
function and adapt in the future — whether that’s one year, or 10. That’s part
of the reason, according to Red Hat’s
[2022 State of Enterprise Open Source Report](https://www.redhat.com/en/resources/state-of-enterprise-open-source-report-2022),
that 82% of global C-suite IT leaders are more likely to select a vendor that’s
open source, or who contributes to open source projects.

So there are some really great reasons to choose open source, but what if my
organization doesn’t use open source software? The short answer is they almost
certainly do, whether they’re aware of it or not. In vertical software stacks
across industries, open source penetration ranges from 20 to 85 percent of the
overall software used, according to
[The Linux Foundation](https://www.linuxfoundation.org/blog/blog/why-do-enterprises-use-and-contribute-to-open-source-software).

#### Benefits of open source

Some of most profitable open source companies like [GitLab](https://gitlab.com),
[Hashicorp](https://hashicorp.com), and [Red Hat](https://redhat.com) benefit
from a few very important advantages over their closed-source competitors,
including:

**Transparency:** Open source code can be reviewed by anyone so vulnerabilities
are more likely to be identified and corrected before they lead to problems.
Anyone who relies on open source software can also audit it themselves, which
helps identify vulnerabilities and increases confidence — a process that
benefits everyone.

**Flexibility:** Open source software generally adheres to industry-standard
frameworks and protocols, which reduces dependency on closed-source vendors and
their proprietary solutions. This helps prevent vendor lock-in and promotes
integration with other open (and closed) source solutions.

**Cost:** While open source is often more affordable than closed-source
software, there’s a common
[misconception](https://opensource.com/education/12/7/clearing-open-source-misconceptions)
that it’s always free. More importantly, organizations aren’t locked into open
source software, so they don’t need to pay expensive licensing fees. While some
open source software is available at no cost, writing code, contributing domain
expertise, and troubleshooting open source software like Firezone are all
valuable endeavors that we want to support indefinitely.

**Quality:** With hundreds, or even thousands of contributors and maintainers,
open source software usually becomes more stable, bug-free, and user-friendly
over time — this is particularly true for popular projects like
[Firezone](https://github.com/firezone/firezone).

**Agility:** Closed-source software developers often start from scratch, and
build their products in-house — a process that can take months or even years.
Open source developers build and improve on existing code bases, which means
it’s often more resilient and feature-rich than proprietary software.

**Community:** Developing open source software means having a relationship with
a global community of developers — often working with contributors, responding
to issues, or merging pull requests (PRs). This is a great way for organizations
like [Firezone](https://github.com/firezone/firezone) to get direct feedback
from their most enthusiastic users.

There aren’t many downsides to open source, and organizations increasingly
publish their code for the reasons outlined above. That being said, the main
reason not to open a project is when that project includes an organization’s
“secret sauce” or other sensitive information that can lead to security issues
or erode a competitive advantage.

#### The future is open source

While open source may have gotten an
[unconventional start](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source-software_movement#:~:text=Brief%20history,-Further%20information%3A%20Open&text=The%20label%20%22open%20source%22%20was,source%2Dcode%20release%20for%20Navigator.)
from hackers, visionaries and technologists, the benefits are clear. It’s being
used to modernize and standardize IT infrastructure, security, scalability, and
application development. Open source is now a preferred development strategy for
large and small organizations from cloud providers to security solutions and
beyond.

#### Get started now

Replace your current VPN with Firezone — an open source solution that combines
the best of zero trust network access (ZTNA), role-based access control, and
WireGuard®.
[Request early access](https://www.firezone.dev/product/early-access) to the
beta, and get started with up to 10 free users.
