Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is available in source code form for which the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software. - Wikipedia

We primarily use Open Source software in our web development at Digital Carpenter. From the servers that we provision using Linux as the operating system, to the programming languages we use to build the apps and the databases that store the information. There are many reasons we do this:

Open Source is Reliable

Many Open Source projects have been around for years, with thousands of developers all working together to make the code better.

Open Source is Secure

A common argument against OS software is that because thousands of people can see the source code, they can work out ways to make the program insecure. The other side of the coin is that those same  thousands of developers can work together to make the software more secure. Everyone who uses the software has an incentive to see it as secure as it can be, and they can all view the code, so any little bug or insecurity can be fixed and released very quickly. Contrast this with how many large software companies function. Security vulnerabilities are often found by small teams who spend their time trying to break the software, some with good intentions and others with bad. When the software is broken it can sometimes take months before the vendor even acknowledges that their is a problem. Anyone who owns the software can wait months or years for a release that fixes the issue. Often it is only media coverage that will get fast action on behalf of the vendor.