Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 14 | Page 77

t cht lk TECH TALK /////////////////////////////////////////////////// WHY OPEN SOURCE IS BENEFICIAL FOR YOUR BUSINESS Open source platforms and principles are driving Digital Transformation initiatives in global enterprise organisations. Intelligent CIO Europe speaks to Werner Knoblich, SVP and GM, EMEA, Red Hat, about open source and the benefits it can bring to businesses of today. W erner Knoblich is responsible for developing and executing Red Hat’s strategy across EMEA and says he has seen open source mature rapidly from its humble beginnings in the 1990s. With the rapid pace of innovation and change within enterprise IT, most businesses today are directly benefiting from open source software. Open source is a community coding model in which the fundamental source code is ‘open’ and editable by everyone. The open collaboration approach means the entire community benefits from contributions, as members identify and elevate the best ideas, quickening the pace of innovation. Knoblich www.intelligentcio.com is keen to highlight: “Red Hat supports these communities by contributing to the code and helping drive development in directions that support real-world business needs and by creating enterprise-ready, secure, stable, reliable products from open source community projects.” CIOs need to consider the value of using enterprise-grade open source software to ensure maximum efficiency in their business operations. “No one uses open source technology just because it’s hip and exciting. It’s because it provides the best solutions to their problems.” Making the switch is ultimately the most cost-effective thing to do, allowing access to a speed of innovation “ CIOS NEED TO CONSIDER THE VALUE OF USING ENTERPRISE- GRADE OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE TO ENSURE MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY IN THEIR BUSINESS OPERATIONS. INTELLIGENTCIO 77