Open-source technology has dramatically transformed the IT industry. There was an age when proprietary software was dominant in the market. Developers were bound with limited tools & features for building applications.
But after the disruption of open source, developing software got changed. According to a market report, the global Open-Source software market was valued at $27728.89 million in 2022. It is now projected to reach $75209.66 million by 2028 at a CAGR of 18.09%.
Today, almost 70-90% of applications and software are built with open-source frameworks. Especially the mobile app development industry is making the most of open-source technology. Developers and mobile app development companies are using open-source frameworks for creating a variety of mobile apps while saving costs and time.
But how open source is helping mobile app development? Let’s explore the reasons.
What is open-source technology?
Open-source technology is a software and programming platform. It provides source code free to use and modify as per the user’s own requirements. Open-source software is released under a license.
It grants users the right to inspect and use the source code for developing and coding software and applications. Developers and programmers use various open-source frameworks & tools for a variety of purposes like coding, programming, testing, designing, and developing applications.
What is an open-source framework?
Open-source framework is a software development tool or library. It contains in-built features, components, UIs, and other required tools & resources for developing applications for computer devices and multiple operating systems.
Open-source frameworks are free for public usage and offer the fundamental setup for software and app development. These frameworks are free to use and offer great ready-made solutions which increase developers’ productivity and delivery of products.
Why has open source been so successful in app development industry?
Open-source software is a disruptive technology. It provides plenty of benefits that no technology previously has ever offered. Open-source frameworks and tools are freely available and contain minimal restrictions. It enables developers to utilize not only the source code but also use several other in-built features and resources which ultimately help in software development.
And since it is freely available, it doesn’t impact the cost. Therefore, open-source frameworks & tools have been extremely successful in the mobile app development industry. There are many types of open-source tools available that facilitate the entire mobile app development process.
Whereas, this facility for mobile app development wasn’t available in traditional proprietary SDKs. It requires a complex collaboration agreement between the user and the software license provider. This collaboration agreement contains many complications and issues, for example-
- Who will get the rights to intellectual property?
- Who will have ownership of the source code and rights to further modification?
- Who will finance other parts of development?
- How the developed application or software would be exploited?
These issues hinder the software development process and its lifecycle. As a result, it increases cost, time, and effort. On the contrary, open source has a less complicated and smooth development process.
They provide a much more convenient, flexible, and secure app development license and facility. For instance, Apple offers free access to use its iOS app development tool, XCode IDE. However, if the user wants to join its developer community, it would cost $99 for a year.
How open-source frameworks improve mobile app development?
Mobile app development has turned into a bigger industry. As per reports, 3739 apps are released on the Google Play Store every day. Over 8.93 million smartphone apps are available in the market. And since consumers and industries are increasingly adopting apps, the demand for mobile app development is skyrocketing.
In this massive growth, open source contributes a significant role. It empowers developers and companies to build multiple types of apps with modern features at low costs. Especially, the number of cross-platform apps is relatively high due to its multi-platform ability.
Businesses mostly look for a cross platform app development consulting firms for building single apps for all OS platforms including Android and iOS. This is because of the benefits that open source provides which helps in improving mobile app development.
- Flexibility
Open-source frameworks give good flexibility when it comes to building or customizing the source code. Enterprises and developers have the liberty to add, remove, or edit components as they want in the open-source licensed software. This flexibility helps developers in the creation of a custom and unique mobile application for any business niche.
- Cross-platform development support
There are plenty of open-source frameworks, tools, and libraries that offer cross-platform development support for building apps for multiple OS platforms with a single codebase. With cross-platform development frameworks, developers or companies don’t have to create app separately for each mobile OS platform.
By just using a single codebase, they can launch the app for Android, iOS, Windows, and other mobile OS platforms. This not only saves substantial resources and costs but also delivers the product. React Native, Flutter, and Ionic are popular cross-platform open-source frameworks. Many businesses with top react native development firm for building apps.
- Faster development
Open-source frameworks provide speedy app development support. They contain a plethora of tools, templates, in-built widgets, and components for the creation of all kinds of features and functionalities. This not only increases the speed of app development but also eases the entire process.
For instance, Flutter is Google’s UI SDK that provides a rich library of widgets and UI components for rapid app development. Due to its feature-rich and cost-efficient development ability, companies hire dedicated app developers for creating apps using this open source technology.
- Cost-efficient
Proprietary software would cost a lot for application development because of its complicated and highly integrated rules. Here, open source eliminates these limitations and gives wide freedom and resources. This enables developers and app development companies to build apps while saving significant costs. Consequently, for startups and entrepreneurs, open source frameworks work as a boon.
Conclusion
Open source is truly revolutionary and highly useful technology. It offers numerous benefits which ultimately help in improving the mobile app development process. Therefore, mobile app development companies in Delhi today widely prefer using open-source frameworks for creating mobile apps. And the way new open-source technology and innovations are coming, its usage in the mobile app development industry will reach new heights.
