An open system is that computer system that allows operation on it through open standards.
When speaking of systems for the different disciplines of science, it is considered open that one that can carry out exchanges with its environment, insofar as it receives flows from the environment and is capable of making changes or adjustments in its behavior according to the inputs it receives. . These systems are praised as an alternative for information exchange and simplification in organization and communication.
For computing, open systems are systems configured in such a way that they allow interoperability, portability, and the use of open standards. That is, systems that provide free access for customization and reconfiguration.
Historically, open systems are those based on Unix, which allowed the inclusion of programming interfaces and interconnections developed by third parties, or the exchange between different developers when configuring a computer system. In the 1990s, the rise of the Single UNIX Specification grew.
Later, and with the birth of the new millennium, a new boom in open systems took place, talking about the competitive advantages that a product designed in Unix has over a closed one. Although the large software and hardware development companies resisted this growth, the popularity of open systems was immediate and today they are spread throughout the world as an economical and relevant alternative in computing.
One of the softwares that were developed under an open system is Linux, the free operating system that today competes with Windows worldwide. Many companies such as IBM and Hewlett-Packard embraced it, now praising the benefits and triumph of open source over closed source.
New companies also start their businesses through open products, as Sun Microsystems does with its OpenOffice.org package, which includes applications similar to Microsoft Office in their functionality but that can be freely used and modified.
