OSS is often distributed under licenses that comply with the definition of "Open Source"

 The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines OSS in S 6106.01 as “Software that can be accessed, used, modified, and shared by anyone. OSS is often distributed under licenses that comply with the definition of "Open Source" provided by the Open Source Initiative and/or that meet the definition of "Free Software" provided by the Free Software Foundation”.

OSS is a powerful tool that can be used by organizations to accelerate innovation while reducing the development timeline, product time to market, and overall cost. OSS also reduces fragmentation and increases interoperability among different products by producing components and protocols that become the de facto standard. jobs with a computer science degree provides a platform for talented coders to openly collaborate and build software.  Open source works optimally when developers behave as “good citizens” in which consumers also contribute, provide useful feedback, and share fixes.  The transparency of code reviewed by many expert eyeballs reduces software complexity and the number of bugs.  This crowdsourcing approach to software development has effectively produced quality software at low cost.