We need to talk about 'open source'

9th December 2025

Open source software is one of those ideas that sounds straightforward but is often quietly misunderstood. Some people assume it means “free but unsupported”, others think it’s only suitable for hardcore developers, and a few assume that once something is open source it must be chaotic, risky, or somehow less professional.

In reality, open source isn’t any of those things by default, and those assumptions can stop organisations from considering powerful, well-supported solutions for the wrong reasons.

So let’s clear a few things up.

All software is made using code. When a particular piece of software is open source this code is publicly available. There are no secrets and anyone can see exactly how the software works, use it for free, modify it however they like and share it with anyone. 

ResourceSpace is open source but there’s more to it than that. 

For the technically minded, no problem - get a server, install all the pre-requisites ResourceSpace needs to run, install ResourceSpace, configure it and start using it - but there are lots of people who wouldn’t know where to begin.  

This is where we come in.

We have our own servers and all the pre-requisite software is installed on those servers and kept up to date. We install ResourceSpace and our Customer Success Managers configure your system for you. From metadata setup to permissions to workflows - it’s all included - and then we’ll train you as well so you know exactly how to use and manage the system. 

We keep tight control over the ResourceSpace code available to our clients. We maintain the code, support it and develop it in a controlled manner.  We’ll typically do three releases a year, each of which introduces new functionality, developed by us, tested by us and supported by us.

Much of the development we do originates from our customers in fact - they make suggestions, their Customer Success Manager adds them to our roadmap, we monitor interest and when a suggestion proves popular with multiple customers, it gets picked up and developed.   

Well this all sounds fine but what benefit do our customers get from ResourceSpace being open source in that case? 

Benefit 1: No license fee

All software comes with a license, whether it’s open source or closed source. This license specifies how a piece of software can be used but crucially, in this context, closed source, or ‘proprietary’ software licenses, come with a fee - this must be paid annually and it’s usually pretty significant too. 

No license fee makes our pricing very competitive. For proprietary software, clients need to pay for the support service AND the license. 

Benefit 2: Community development

Although we control the code, the open source community is friendly and built on principles of sharing and helping each other. We receive submissions from ResourceSpace users who’ve developed something pretty cool that they’re keen to share and add to the code so other users can benefit from it. In these cases we’ll consider if the development is a worthwhile addition to ResourceSpace, and, if it is, we’ll review the code line by line, put it through our full regression testing and, once we’re satisfied, add it as part of our next release. That development then becomes our responsibility and we maintain it from then on. 

So, ResourceSpace is supported by a worldwide community of developers keen to contribute, but we remain the guardians of the code, carefully reviewing and testing any additions so that only proven, supported functionality is included in your system.

Benefit 3: Code scrutiny

A third benefit of open source is something that’s often overlooked, but is actually one of its greatest strengths: transparency.

Because the ResourceSpace code is open, it can be inspected. Not just by us, but by developers, security professionals and organisations around the world. That means vulnerabilities are more likely to be spotted, questioned and fixed quickly. It’s the opposite of “security through obscurity”, where flaws can sit hidden in proprietary systems simply because nobody outside the vendor is allowed to see what’s really going on behind the scenes.

This “many eyes” effect is a well-established principle in open source. The more people who can review code, the harder it is for serious issues to go unnoticed for long. Potential problems surface earlier, fixes are discussed openly, and best practice evolves faster.

Benefit 4: Ethical alignment and transparency

For many organisations, particularly charities, cultural institutions and public-interest bodies, how software is built and managed matters just as much as what it does. Open source is grounded in principles of openness, transparency and collaboration. Nothing is hidden, no artificial barriers are created, and trust comes from visibility rather than restrictive contracts.

Using open source software like ResourceSpace allows organisations to align their technology choices with their values. There are no opaque dependencies or deliberate lock-ins designed to limit future options.

That transparency mirrors how we operate more broadly: open, accountable and focused on long-term relationships rather than short-term leverage.

So, in summary, where ResourceSpace is concerned, open source is a foundation: one that delivers transparency, security, flexibility and long-term confidence, while still providing the structure, support and accountability organisations expect from a professional DAM platform.

If you’d like to talk through what that looks like in practice, or explore whether ResourceSpace is the right fit for your organisation, get in touch with our team.