Fleet management software has become a resource for running your fleet business. You can gather valuable data for making your business successful. When used properly, this software boosts your productivity and reduces costs. You will find a positive return on investment in a few months. A high-end fleet management system includes different features to make your everyday tasks easier. However, fleet tracking systems are available in 2 versions – open-source and closed-source. How do they differ from each other? This may be confusing if you’re not into web development or software development.
An open-source fleet management platform involves using codes found online for free-of-charge and free of any cost. Majority of open-source code is hosted on platforms like Github and Gitlab. Users can delete, modify, and copy the code. Thus, this software gives easy access to the public, and users will find constant updates. On the contrary, a closed-source fleet management platform is designed with proprietary code. Only those who have created the platform can use the software. When you make a payment, it does not denote that you have not bought the software. Your payment is for using the platform.
You can now check for major differences between open and closed-source fleet management solutions.
Price of open-source vs closed-source software
An open-source fleet management system is a free solution for fleet owners. But, you need to pay an amount to get extra functions and services.
Contrarily, vehicle management software (closed-source) is a high-priced alternative with a few different pricing tiers. Thus, to use a better version, you need to pay a higher amount.
Security- It’s still another thing to consider, which differentiates closed-source fleet trackers from open-source ones. For the open-source solution, the code is viewable, shareable, and modifiable by anyone. Bugs are repaired quickly, but the codes may be hacked easily.
But, the closed-source platform is more safe, and none but vendors can solve bugs.
Usability of open-source vs closed-source software
When there is an open-source fleet management system, developers can find user guides. These often consist of README files but may be outdated depending on how frequently the open-source software is updated which depends on the popularity of the software and the community behind the software. For example, Python is an open source software and one of the most popular languages in the world which means that its open source community consists of hundreds of thousands of developers who love working on improving Python.
You will get high usability with a closed-source fleet-tracking portal. This is because closed-source fleet management software has to compete with open-source software and thus have the incentive and need to be significantly better. Features like GPS tracking are more common in closed-source software since they require a physical device which open-source software don’t typically provide.
Why do fleet managers prefer open-source fleet management software?
Several fleet business owners like to use the open-source version because of easier troubleshooting. On Github, you can always report an issue and get help from the community. Anyone with a Github account can make a pull request and help to fix any bugs that you encounter. Besides, they can check the code base, they can make modifications and solve bugs. The best thing is that the upfront cost is very low. Users can also decide based on their needs and interests.
On the other hand, a closed-source software will usually have a private forum for buyers of the fleet management software to ask questions. Paid developers will respond within a couple of hours and bug fixes and feature requests can be handled very quickly if you’re a big client within the fleet management software company.
Final thoughts
Although a free fleet tracker with GPS tracking technology is an enticing option, a proprietary platform is another solution. You will get several customization options with your premium software. A fleet management platform lets you manage a large number of vehicles.
Maintaining your car at the proper time of year is possible. And having a fleet management system is an important part of being a profitable business. With a GPS tracking feature, you may track your vehicles remotely. Other benefits of a fleet management application are route monitoring, fuel management, and fleet alarms. You can learn about your drivers’ performance. So, choose the most reliable vendor to start using your fleet management software.