Sep 15, 2023

12 Articles To Help You Manage Open-Source Products in 2023 Here are Spiceworks’ top 12 recommendations to help you optimize the use of open-source software on Software Freedom Day 2023. September 15, 2023 Free software has often been a popular choice for users and organizations, not just in terms of cost but also in terms of knowledge sharing and collaborative efforts. Check out our top reading recommendations about the importance of open-source software products that will help your organization optimize its resources. Software Freedom Day is celebrated each year on the third Saturday of September. It aims to improve public awareness about the development and benefits of using free software. This year, Software Freedom Day will be celebrated on the 16th of September. Here are our top reading recommendations on free, open-source software that will help you and your organization get an edge in managing and getting the most out of such resources. Top 12 Articles on Open Source Software This article talks about the problems of software supply chains and how the lack of knowledge about the origins and development of products results in vulnerabilities in IT security. It focuses on the importance of tracking software lineage, especially in open-source products, where the source code is easily available to malicious actors. This article talks about using proprietary data warehousing models and whether they are better than open-source alternatives. While there is a misconception that open-source products are cost-effective and innovative, this is not always true. The article talks about the different factors to keep in mind when using open-source solutions, with the aid of real-world examples. Managing open-source products can come with challenges, including difficulty adapting to new tools, security issues, and integration with other organizational setups. This article talks about such pain points and what best practices one can follow to make the experience with open-source software pleasant. Donald Fischer, the CEO of Tidelift, talks about the importance of open-source products for innovation and community development in this article. He also discusses security threats and maintenance challenges associated with such products and why organizations must invest in strengthening open-source supply chains. In this article, Trevor Eddolls, the CEO of ITech-Ed, talks about the growing popularity of open-source databases and why the perception on databases such as Kafka, MySQL, MongoDB, and Redis has recently taken a positive turn. He also talks about the key differences one should consider between cloud and open-source database providers. Organizations erroneously trust open-source products, considering that so many others use them. While open source gains traction, this article talks about the troubles with open source, the importance of verification, and the factors that an organization should consider before adopting an open-source solution. With machine learning and artificial intelligence gaining massive interest in recent years, data annotation tools have become more important than ever. This article takes you through a comprehensive guide to the best open-source data annotation tools that one can find, including their features and benefits, in addition to a guide on what one should look for in data annotation tools. Author Alex Rybak talks about the growing popularity of open-source software and the risks associated with this change. He talks about the necessity of proactive measures in mitigating potential threats, improving transparency and resiliency, and key best practices companies should implement if they are using open-source products. OpenVPN and WireGuard are highly popular open-source VPN tools that are preferred by enterprises around the world. This article provides a comprehensive guide to both tools, their features, their differences, and key factors an enterprise should consider before choosing one over the other. This article talks about the dangers of open-source software, particularly in light of the Log4Shell vulnerability. It talks about the factors that have driven the popularity of open-source solutions, the threats they carry, and what best practices users should keep in mind to manage the risks and get the most out of these products.