OpenGear Networks is based around the Open Source consulting model - we provide network-centric consulting services for various Open Source offerings. Our strength lies in our ability to inter-weave the best of breed frameworks, especially from the Open Source world. From our operating systems to our documenting system, we are Open Source all the way. Occasionally we do use proprietary systems ourselves and don't shy away from admitting it. Having said that, however, we make a strong effort to find Open Source alternatives wherever possible.

We are firmly committed to the Open Source Initiative and do our best to contribute in whatever ways we can - the most fundamental way being that we ourselves are an Open Source centric enterprise. We extend the Open Source philosophy to our clients and help them find Open Source alternatives to proprietary systems that are in use in their environments. We do not recommend or ratify any product. We attempt to find a tool that is most suited given our clients requirements. Under many circumstances, we find that we cannot do away with a proprietary system. We do not hesitate to work with the said tools - instead we make do and try to find an Open Source alternative that could be used in the future.

Open source promotes software reliability and quality by supporting independent peer review and rapid evolution of source code. There are a number of classic examples to demonstrate that Open Source software works and works well, oft surpassing rivals from the proprietary world. The most famous example is the Linux™ operating system. The Open Source web server Apache is yet another example - a large percent of the web is actually served by Apache. Other equally ubiquitous examples are: PERL, Python and PHP.

Our Open Source sampling includes Linux™, ViM, the Gimp, Open Office, Snort, Squid to name a few. Our preferred distribution is Debian. We firmly believe in the Open Source model (especially when it comes to security) - Security by Obscurity is not our way of work.

Our philosophy is BET:

We believe empowerment is in the best interest of our clients. Yet another reason why the Open Source philosophy works - our clients have the power to adapt the system to satisfy their business requirements. They are liberated from having to depend on vendors for release cycles and from using a given service provider. Active Open Source projects also evolve very quickly and are renowned for their quick turn around time when issues crop up. All this and more make Open Source an important technology choice for many organisations.