The Changing Role of Open Source Software

The Changing Role of Open Source Software

This IDC Perspective takes a look at five ways in which open source software (OSS) has changed or evolved in its role in the industry, and considers some of the pressures and strains that are increasingly complicating the ability of OSS projects to thrive. Open source software has become a standard element of nearly all organizations' IT infrastructure today. The industry itself is evolving, as pressures continue to squeeze both vendors of solutions built using OSS and developers and maintainers of OSS projects. "OSS has always been an evolving technology, with industry change occasionally forcing that evolution to move more quickly than it would on its own. Today we see external pressures not only coming from companies that incorporate OSS into products but also coming from an increased focus on security and longevity of OSS solutions," said Al Gillen, GVP, Software Development and Open Source at IDC. "The OSS community has proven itself to be flexible and able to adapt to change, so the pressures we see today will presumably be absorbed and we should see a better OSS world emerge because of these pressures."

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