What open means
The word open can describe different things: available weights, public code, training information or a permissive licence. Read the actual licence before using a model.
Why teams explore them
Teams may want more control over deployment, data handling or customisation. Those benefits come with the work of maintaining infrastructure and evaluating the model.
What to compare
Compare performance on your own tasks, operational cost, licence obligations and the support available. Running a model yourself does not automatically make it cheaper or safer.
Key takeaways
Look past the label. The licence, deployment requirements and task performance determine whether an open model fits your needs.