Why is open source crucial for innovation?

We believe that some innovations are too important not to share. Although individual companies can accomplish many things on their own, different perspectives can lead to fascinating results.

Open source software is good for everyone. By being open and freely available, it enables and encourages collaboration and the development of new technology. This fosters innovation and helps to solve real world problems. At Atos and Google, we have released millions of lines of code under open source licenses for others to use, and believe that a healthy ecosystem is important for the sustainability of open source for all.

How?
An open-source environment is in place when multiple people from in- and outside your company can contribute and use designs and ideas that are publicly available. This way software not only works for you own benefit, but also for others. We believe that different advantages exist of an open-source environment. Andrew Aitken, global open-source strategist at Wipro, names a few:

1. Secondary Innovation - although not purposefully initiated, secondary innovation can occur when teams who are ingested with new open-source software modify it to optimally function for their project goals. These changes, or added functions, make sure that each team can work optimally with the application, which leads to a faster spreading of ideas.

2. Experiment safely, fail fast - when working with expensive and external software, employees can feel the pressure of a serious price tag. With open-source software, employees can choose themselves what to use and when, making experimenting safe and failing less costly. 

3. Better software building - strategically pairing open-source with inner source programs can fasten knowledge transfer and make for more reliable software through better code quality.

4. Talent retention - since technology is a big part of the future, software development talent is needed to keep up with the competition. And what better way to attract and retain talent than by advertising with an interesting open-source platform?

5. Competency development - through development and cooperation with other code-specialists, code-errors are reduced and developers become more proficient faster.

These advantages of open-source enable fast innovation. Kai Hilton-Jones, Director of solutions engineering, EMEA at Github: ‘Enterprises now understand that the same culture and working methodology that drives innovation at speed in the open-source community also contributes to faster innovation inside the organization’

Google and Atos
Google Open-Source is built upon 3 main pillars: Use, Release & Support. Google made available thousands of open-source projects to build scalable and reliable products for others to use. It's important for Google to build a healthy ecosystem that supports open source technology. By sharing knowledge, contributing to others and introducing innovative ideas, Google takes its responsibility to not only help itself but also the rest of the world.

Earlier this year, Atos introduced Open Hybrid Cloud. This solution makes it more convenient for large companies to make the transition to the Cloud. It is based on components of Google Cloud’s Anthos and the open-source platforms Kubernetes & OpenStack. Open Hybrid Cloud will enable companies to increase their operational effectivity and get a faster implementation of new applications. This, in turn, will lead to a higher level of innovation, taking Atos one step further in enhancing collaborative innovation.

Towards a better world
We have seen the advantages of open source and the responsibilities Atos & Google take in enhancing collaborative innovation. What would the world look like if every organization has an open-source environment next to their inner source? Just imagine how fast we could innovate and solve some of the world’s biggest problems. Are you in?