Open Source Benefits

Open source provides Funambol customers and users with many benefits

Funambol's open source basis has led to the growth of the largest mobile open source developer community in the world. A major benefit of this is the valuable feedback and contributions made by the community to the software's core capabilities. As developers have access to the project's source code, they can become deeply involved with the software, which results in many innovations and extensions to Funambol. For example, consider these Funambol community projects that augment its scope and utility for a wide range of purposes.

A specific benefit is that the worldwide Funambol open source developer community continuously uses and tests Funambol software on the latest mobile phones and devices, such as iPhone and Android smartphones and tablets. As they have access to its source code, the community is able to make code-level suggestions to improve the software, and in many instances, they enhance the software directly and contribute it for everyone to use. This community involvement enables Funambol to support many more mobile devices more quickly than proprietary solutions, which is a major advantage.

Another benefit is that Funambol commercial customers receive full access to the Funambol source code. Although it is possible to receive source code for proprietary solutions, the difference with open source software such as Funambol is that the software has been designed, coded and documented from its onset to be used by a broad community of technical people. This means that all of the tools and processes to build and maintain the software are documented, the software has been vetted by hundreds or thousands of people outside of the core development team, and more. The result is that the Funambol solution is imminently flexible and extensible for a wide range of needs. Customers are not limited to just using a set of APIs as with proprietary solutions.

For more ways that Funambol's open source-based solutions can help your organization with its next project or service, please contact the Funambol Sales Team.