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Open Source in the Enterprise--An O'Reilly Radar Report: Study reveals how enterprises use open source software to save money, gain control, and innovate

July 24, 2008

Open Source in the Enterprise Sebastopol, CA—To what extent has open source software gained a foothold in the enterprise? Without vendor reports or reliable company disclosures, the picture is unclear. We know for certain that its growth is explosive: the number of new open source projects has grown from about 12,500 in 2000 to nearly 200,000 in 2007. Its adoption has also been dramatic. Over the past seven years, open source software downloads have jumped over 7,000 percent; total yearly downloads will reach one billion either this year or next.

The low cost, easy access, and expansive license terms of open source are certainly attractive-especially since IT budgets have decreased 3-5% every year, while software costs have increased, and IT staffs have been tasked to create web services and pursue Web 2.0 custom-service initiatives.

Through research, interviews, and innovative data mining, this Report describes how enterprises are leveraging open source software in support of business goals.

The findings reveal:
  • The six key drivers for enterprise open source adoption, including agility and scale, quality and security, and more.
  • Employment of open source skilled personnel is surprisingly high, representing approximately 5% of all US large enterprise IT hiring over the past three years.
  • Enterprises need to create open source action plans to gain the most benefit from open source opportunities.

Along with a detailed overview of open source from an enterprise perspective, this Report presents three Action Plans to help companies effectively increase the use of open source.

For a review copy or more information please email kathrynb@oreilly.com. Please include your delivery address and contact information.

Bernard Golden is a recognized authority on open source software. Called "a renowned open source expert" (IT Business Edge) and "an open source guru" (SearchCRM.com), he is regularly featured in magazines like Computerworld, InformationWeek, and Inc. His blog The Open Source is one of the most popular features of CIO magazine's website. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences like LinuxWorld, the Open Source Business Conference, and the Red Hat Summit. Bernard Golden is the author of Succeeding with Open Source, (Addison-Wesley, 2005, published in four languages), used as a course text in universities throughout the world. He is the CEO of Navica, a Silicon Valley-based management consulting firm focused on open source and innovation.

Additional Resources:
For more information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bios, and cover graphic, see: http://radar.oreilly.com/research/os-enterprise-report.html

Open Source in the Enterprise
Open Source in the Enterprise
Bernard Golden
ISBN: 9780596153717, 50 pages, PDF Price: $399.00 USD
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