Discover the Potential of free Open Source Software

In an era where businesses are increasingly reliant on technology, knowing how free open source applications can be leveraged provides significant advantages. At maal, we offer a comprehensive service of managed hosting for free open source software, ensuring you benefit from the flexibility, cost savings, and customisation capabilities these solutions provide.

What is Open Source?

Open source software is software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance. Unlike proprietary software, which is controlled by a single company and typically comes with licensing fees, open source software is developed collaboratively and is freely available to anyone. Examples include well-known platforms like Linux, PrestaShop, and WordPress.

Adopting open source software can significantly reduce your operational costs:

• No Licensing Fees: Open source software eliminates the need for expensive licensing fees, making it a cost-effective option for businesses of all sizes.
• Reduced Vendor Lock-in: By using open source solutions, you are not tied to a single vendor of Software as a Service, giving you greater flexibility and control over your technology stack. Because anyone has access to Open Source you can choose from many companies capable of managing Your applications.
• Exclusive ownership of Your data: Choosing Open Source technologies You will decide on Your own where Your data is stored. You won’t have to worry about missing a clause in a license that allows someone else to profit from Your data.

What can be replaced with Open Source alternatives?

There are many Open Source alternatives to popular commercial applications that do not receive deserved attention. Organisations that create Open Source software typically have less money to spend on marketing so they are often first discovered by IT enthusiasts. Specialists are also more capable of quickly judging what kind of challenges might arise while transitioning to a free alternative and they are the fastest to discover digitisation opportunities in other businesses.

At a first glance it might not be obvious which applications are Open Source and can be hosted for free on own infrastructure (it is beneficial to their creators to advertise their own commercial hosting service) so we have gathered some examples:

• Nextcloud is an alternative to Microsoft Teams and other parts of the Office suite from Microsoft.
• Odoo as an alternative to SAP and many other applications making up an ERP suite.
• RustDesk is a free alternative to TeamViewer.
• Rocket.Chat is an alternative to Slack as well as a tool connecting multiple communication channels such as WhatsApp and Messenger.
• AFFiNE and AppFlowy are alternatives to Notion, a tool for knowledge organisation.
• Vaultwarden is an alternative to Bitwarden password manager.
• Nocodb is a free alternative to Airtable.
• Plausible can be used as an alternative to Google Analytics.

Managed Infrastructure with maal

One of the challenges of using open source software is managing the infrastructure required to run it. At maal, we offer fully managed infrastructure services, allowing you to focus on your business while we handle the technical complexities. Our managed services include:

• Domain Management: If you do not own a domain yet, we will help you buy one, renew its ownership and connect the servers to it.
• Server Management: We take care of server setup, maintenance, and optimisation to ensure your applications run smoothly. We have experience with both on-premise servers and the cloud.
• Infrastructure Updates: We will handle updating the software and migrating the data for You. We will immediately update your software when there are security risks discovered.
• Monitoring and Support: We provide monitoring and support to ensure maximum up-time and quick resolution of any issues.

Customising Open Source Software

One of the greatest strengths of open source software is its ability to be customised. Our team of experts can tailor open source applications to fit your specific business needs:

• Feature Enhancement: Add new features or modify existing ones to better align with your business processes.
• Integration: Seamlessly integrate open source applications with your existing systems and tools to create a cohesive workflow.
• User Interface Customisation: Customise the user interface to improve usability and align with your brand’s identity. We will help you modify the application so that it looks like it was tailor-made for Your Company. We can also help you translate the user interface to a selected language.

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Hosting open source applications with maal offers a powerful combination of cost savings, flexibility, and customisation. Our managed infrastructure services, expertise in customising open source software, and secure data migration solutions ensure that you can leverage the full potential of open source technology to drive your business forward. Contact us today to learn more about how our services can help you achieve your business goals.

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