Open Source and Standards

Open Source and Standards in the Marketplace

Technology and the Internet revolution have made the world a smaller and "flatter" place. Global innovation continues to bring people around the world closer to one another, but we're now starting to realize that just being connected isn't enough.

Fortunately, a new revolution is beginning: one that holds significant potential. The planet is becoming smarter. Intelligence is being infused into the way the world literally works—into the systems, processes and infrastructure that enable physical goods to be developed, manufactured, bought and sold; that allow services to be delivered; that facilitate the movement of everything from money and oil to water and electrons. Ultimately, this will help to improve how billions of people work and live.

Open Source & Standards are key to making our planet smarter and improving the way we live and work.

Open Source:
Open source in IT is software whose source code is published and made available to the public, enabling anyone to copy, modify and redistribute the source code without paying royalties or fees.

Standards:
A standard is a specification that has been agreed upon by a community, through usage or declaration. Once established, any number of duplicates or variants can be made, while keeping the basic structure or function intact.

IBM is driving reforms for IP, Open Source & Standards

IBM is an industry leader helping governments move toward greater openness and innovation. Our commitment and perspective on intellectual property, open standards, and open source software emerges from our experience in the marketplace and, equally important, from the direction in which we see information technology taking the larger society.