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Even companies that have come from proprietary software roots are turning to open source solutions to integrate into notoriously proprietary software, such as Oracle's Enterprise Linux. The companies that produce the proprietary software are beginning to integrate open source solutions into their product lines, which shows a general shift in how technology companies design and build software.

Traditionally, if open source software was run in-house at a company, there was a good chance that it didn't come with a commercial support contract, because the project was community supported. Typically an in-house IT staff managed the solution, but when something went wrong IT would consult the community for support.

Many companies are uncomfortable with such a model, so they choose a potentially poorer-quality product that offers a legally binding support contract that can be engaged if something goes wrong. One solution might not necessarily be better than the other, and the community support offered for an open source solution may in fact be more responsive than that of the commercial company. However, because purely open source solutions offer no service-level agreement, no company will need to make the decision to run open source software due to legal liabilities or simply out of fear of not being supported.

With many large software companies now involved with open source software—and not just consuming the code, but also contributing to these open source products—the shift in corporate software culture has a ripple effect. Academics and the open source community have always had a tendency to drive innovation, only to see their work be adopted by a company with the resources to turn it into a useable, marketable product.

Companies that normally institute only proprietary, closed-source software understand that their vendors are supporting open source products due to the benefits and cost savings associated with open source, and are beginning to shift their software development practices to welcome open solutions.

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Other Collection and Use of Information


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Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

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Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

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Links


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Requests and Contact


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Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020