Open Source is the 'software establishment', report says

A new report examining trends in the open source market says more and more organisations are jumping on FOSS, for more reasons than just the price tag.

IT researcher the Standish Group released the report which surveyed participants over five years, and claims “the Open Source movement is no longer the anti-software-industry establishment... Open Source software is the software establishment!”

Though measuring the Open Source market can prove difficult, Standish’s research estimates Open Source software will save users upwards of US$60 billion annually.

In general, Standish found that an increasing number of users believe Open Source software to be more secure, better quality, and more reliable than its commercial counterparts.

Sydney Linux Users Group president Sridhar Dhanapalan claimed Open Source software has become so appealing to so many companies because the software’s very nature ties in well with business.

“FOSS is inherently compatible with a free market, and hence with business,” he said.

“There is no closed-off 'command economy' that is characterised by proprietary software companies. “

“The software and its development are totally open to the world.”

The Standish report mirrors the sentiment of the Australian Open Source Industry and Community Report from earlier this year.