Secure-Source Vs Open-Source Systems, What's the Difference?

I owed my client an apology.

We had spoken at length about their website and why they should choose Global Reach. At the final meeting, he said he failed to see how SiteViz, our secure-source Content Management System (CMS), is different from any other open-source alternative out there.

I froze. The question caught me off guard, but that is no excuse. I knew I mustn’t have done my job properly. I knew the answer but couldn’t really put it into words. So, at that moment, I failed him and my company. Over the course of that meeting, I spoke to the features and benefits of SiteViz, how great the modules are, and how easy it is to use and maintain, but I failed to understand the root of the question and as a result, I never gave him a truly impactful satisfactory answer.

Frankly, it has bothered me ever since. I later sent an email where I apologize for dropping the ball and assured the client that it wouldn’t happen again. That said, I’ve given it a lot of thought and later used an email to address (what I finally understood to be) the root of the question and his true concerns.

I realized as I penned the email that I would need to explain the difference between open-source and secure source CMSs by doing a head-on, side-by-side comparison across three major and differentiating factors: support, development, and security.

Support

When it comes to support, open-source solutions don’t (often because they can’t) offer the kind of support and on-demand answers that a company like Global Reach can. Only a company with a secure-source solution like Global Reach can provide an Account Manager to act as a direct and dedicated point of contact. It adds accountability and means you can have the answers and personalized support for your unique challenges when you need them without wasting time searching for answers like open source solutions often require you to do.

The sad reality of the open-source world is that when you have problems or questions, you’ll need to rely on message boards, chat rooms, and (typically tragically outdated) Q&A websites for answers. A phone call is much more convenient and far less time consuming.

Research and Development

Secure-source CMS users benefit from continuous research and development. Global Reach is the most experienced web developer in the Midwest with two-and-a-half decades under our belt. SiteViz is the result of that experience and our firm continually rising to the needs of specific clients, then offering the updated solutions to all clients that could use them. There is a lot of research and development that goes into new functions and features, which ensures custom functionality is developed in line with your specific needs, and that product upgrades are only rolled out if they meet our high-quality standards. In fact, Global Reach invests more than 2,000 hours of development time every year in support of our product enhancement strategy which is geared toward the evaluation of new technologies, improvement of existing functionality, and the development and incorporation of additional features.

Security

The final difference is the primary difference between secure-source and open-source. It all boils down to how the systems are coded. As the name implies, secure-sourced solutions are much more secure than open-source alternatives.

Did you know that, according to the website Sucuri, the three most hacked systems are WordPress, Joomla, and Magento - all open-source systems? Why is this? The biggest weakness of open-source systems is the code is open to anyone. Hackers understand this weakness and make it a point to target them to obtain sensitive information. Without continuous monitoring, development, and patching that secure-source solutions like SiteViz offer, the results of hacking can be devastating on many levels.

SiteViz, on the other hand, is developed in a controlled environment by only a handful of developers that have the clearance to view or edit the source code, and because routine audits are conducted, the risk your website will be hacked is mitigated greatly. In fact, our SiteViz content management system has never been hacked.

When comparing open-source and secure-source, many factors must be accounted for to determine if it is worth the investment. It all boils down to this: an open-source CMS such SiteViz offers a superior advantage when it comes to support, development, and security, not to mention usability. SiteViz is easy to update and keep content relevant to help give any business the digital edge it needs to stand out in the sea of content!

For a free brief demonstration to see how SiteViz is right for you, contact us today!