Abstract: Open source software offers great chances in software development through cost savings and shorter time to market. Open source software is used by companies – in some cases consciously, in others unconsciously, which puts its implications on the business. This thesis deals with these implications. Threats a company might face are outlined and best practices to counter them are named. This work was performed as a combination of research in publications and interviews with employees at companies that deal with open source components. Result of this research on the one hand is a set of threat scenarios and on the other hand a set of best practices a company should follow to avoid problems arising form the use of open source software. Finally, it can be stated that open source software can be handled without putting the business at risk. The number of practices to follow and the actions to perform is manageable.
PDFs: Final thesis (in English), original work description
Reference: Martin Helmreich. Best Practices of Adopting Open Source Software in Closed Source Software Products. Diplomarbeit, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg: 2011.
