Electronic commerce or e-commerce refers to the conduct of trade activities through electronic means. This includes but is not limited to trade over the internet, especially with the increase of internet usage. This has led to development of various computer software applications, commercial, and open source, to aid in e-commerce. Open source applications have the core code (source code) availed by the developer freely for modification by the end user to suit the needs thereof (Rawat, 2010). Open source applications are cost effective.
They are free and thus cut down costs of initial capital especially for new ventures (Rawat, 2010). This encourages many people to adopt e-commerce in their businesses. This also helps cut down costs of other commercial applications due to competition. Secondly, they encourage innovation thus leading to the solution of many e-commerce problems (Claeson, 2010). As mentioned earlier, the source code is available for modification and this thus leads to many developers coming up with solutions for e-commerce projects, with support from the suggestions of a large community of users and developers.
Thirdly, they are not limited to single providers unlike many commercial applications. This makes maintenance easy as there are a variety of solutions from many developers, reducing reliance on one single vendor. However, there is a risk of having no support unless it is paid for. An example of an open source application is the online OsCommerce application which supports unlimited products, multiple currencies and a web browser support in case of problems (Claeson, 2010).
In light of the foregoing arguments, it can thus be said that open source e-commerce applications are the best solution in the market today and due to the fact that trade activities form a big part of many software applications, these e-commerce applications are leading for all applications to be open source, a factor that would propel the future e-commerce to a whole new level (Rawat, 2010). Certainly, this is good for the future e-commerce because it would not only incorporate a high number of users, but also make business transactions fast and convenient.
References Claeson, D. (2010). Ecommerce Websites Development in PHP – Open Source Customization and Solutions. Retrieved August 22, 2010, from http://ezinearticles. com/? Ecommerce-Website-Development-in-PHP—Open-Source-Customization-and-Solutions&id= 4357623 Rawat, M. (2010). How E-commerce Applications Are Helpful in Business. Retrieved August 22, 2010, from http://ezinearticles. com/? How-E-commerce-Applications-Are-Helpful-in-Business&id= 4737436
