Eighty five percent of companies are already using open source software, with most of the remaining 15 per cent expecting to do so within the next year, according to analysts at Gartner.
However, only 31 per cent of companies surveyed by the analyst house had formal policies for evaluating and procuring open source software (OSS). Gartner conducted its survey of 274 end-user organisations across the Asia/Pacific, Europe, and North American markets in May and June, and announced the results yesterday in the UK.
Respondents to the survey consistently pointed to cost as a prime motivator for their adoption of open source, with some also suggesting OSS provided some protection against single-vendor lock-in. Other reasons for adoption included fast time to market and the avoidance of complex procurement rules and procedures, Gartner said.
However, according to Gartner, a lack of formal policies could open companies up to intellectual-property violations. The analyst house's survey put governance issues at the top of the list for barriers to OSS adoption.
"Just because something is free doesn't mean that it has no cost," said Gartner research director Laurie Wurster in a statement. "Companies must have a policy for procuring OSS, deciding which applications will be supported by OSS, and identifying the intellectual property risk or supportability risk associated with using OSS. Once a policy is in place, then there must be a governance process to enforce it."
Wurster added that the variety of license types and forms for open source software could make understanding when and where OSS might fit in a "frustrating process."
"As time goes by, many of these concerns will be addressed, but this continues to be a slow process," Wurster said. "Increases in OSS popularity and in the rate of OSS adoption will drive the required changes."
In terms of the business processes for which open source software is being used, customer service headed Gartner's list, although enterprise integration, finance and administration, and business analytics also showed strongly.
Linux already dominates the server market, but I think the major thing still holding back widespread use of Open Source for workstations is 'rounding out' the desktop offering.
Ubuntu certainly installs like a breeze, being FAR simpler than M$ on first install, and infinitely easier on second install (as no chasing/finding original licence disks for Windows, M$ Office etc).
However, Dell, HP, Acer, Lenovo etc need to heavy companies like Broadcom (major supplier of WiFi cards for laptops and PCs generally) to make their low-level drivers available for distribution via Ubuntu and other Linux distros. You can take virtually ANY Dell, HP, Acer etc laptop and put Ubuntu on it, answering only one question "Which Language? (default is English)?" but the wireless function within the laptop will not work.... You then do inordinate chasing around to find out that it is Broadcom's preparedness to provide M$ with the necessary firmware interface, but Broadcom's refusal to similarly supply the same code for distribution by other OS distros that causes the copyright problem. The PC makers need to insist that they will only purchase componentry from companies which make its use under a variety of OSs possible.
That is my hope for 2009! If the wireless issue can be resolved, then Ubuntu etc will beat M$ hands-down. This is not because of a feature-by-feature knock-out competition, but because once you have 'imaged' one system onto another, and not had to hang on to a M$ hotline, attempting to explain why you are trying to move an OS licence from one machine to another etc, you realise just how free an environment Open Source can be!