Brazil and the Open Source Software

Gabriel Cogo | IDG Connect | July 20, 2011

I have to admit that my actual knowledge of the open source market still is very superficial. But after participating in a big open source event here in Brazil, I can't keep ignoring the fact that open source software has been grown substantively, and has shed the label of not being a commercially viable option. The amount of big companies that are making or planning to start open source projects only gets bigger, all of them influenced by successful platforms and browsers - like Linux and Firefox - to mention the most famous.

In my opinion, one of the most interesting, attractive aspects of open source software is that all knowledge exchange benefits every participant. It can be good for the companies to create new solutions, for young programmers in search of more experience or a job; and for the IT users that have the possibility to attend their needs without having to deal with the costs of proprietary software.

So, what does Brazil have to do with this? Well, as an expanding IT market, it's not hard to realize that Brazil is a perfect place for open source ideas to develop, especially after the government has given intensive support; declaring the use of open source software in the public sector.