At a recent event organized by the Career Communications Group, a seminar called “Let’s Talk Open Source: The Future of Global Platform Development is Here” was presented. The seminar’s main focus was on the significance of technology and innovation in the global open-source community.

Though the future of open source is still uncertain, it is certain that open source is a catalyst in the globally connected community and influences all aspects of research collaborations, development costs, talent acquisition sources, micro-patents, and micro-licensing of intellectual property.

The market activity is measured by two fundamental factors: speed and sustainability. The more successful the market is served with sustained scaling, the faster it will be. Open-source projects are consistently launching physical and digital solutions to improve market activity.

For instance, a smartwatch development kit can be obtained for as little as $25, which includes open-source operating systems, development frameworks, supply chains, and software. Mastodon is another example of an open-source platform that connects online communities without an intermediary platform.

The platform’s “distributed” architecture disrupts traditional social media. It empowers organizations to have their versions of popular social media platforms with access to all features, functionality, and data generated from social activities. This shift in technological advancements is brought about by Industry 4.0 and a globally connected community of independent professionals, novices, and corporate, non-profit, and government resources.

The panelists also discussed how open source can benefit organizations of all sizes to reduce costs and speed up the delivery of goods, products, and services. They explored the advantages of open-source development practices, transforming how businesses acquire and compensate talent. Additionally, the panelists examined the pros and cons of using open source versus internal development.

The event’s speakers were Madeline Augustin, BDS technology strategy senior manager at The Boeing Company; Markeeva Morgan, senior manager at The Boeing Company; David C Williams, assistant vice president at AT&T; and Kindra Porter from Bell Textron.