Investment in open source software market will begin to register growth, as organisations in the US, UK and Ireland commit towards open source software development. More than two-thirds of organisations (69%) anticipate increased investment in 2010, while more than a third (38%) expect to migrate software to open source in the next twelve months, according to a survey by Accenture.
The survey conducted on 300 large organisations belonging to both the private and public sector, found that half of the respondents (50%) are committed to open source in their business while almost a third (28%) say they are experimenting with open source and keeping an open mind to using it.
In addition, two-thirds of all respondents (65%) noted that they have a fully documented strategic approach for using open source in their business, while another third (32%) are developing a strategic plan. Of the organisations using open source, almost nine out of ten (88%) will increase their investment in the software in 2010 compared to 2009, the survey revealed.
The survey sited that quality and reliability as the benefits of open source, with 76% of respondents in the UK and US citing quality as a key benefit of open source; two-thirds overall (70%) cited improved reliability; and better security/bug fixing was cited by nearly as many (69%) across both countries.
Accenture said that half of the respondents (50%) it surveyed, cited open source as contributing to an overall lower total cost of ownership. When asked about the cost savings in open source, vast majority of organisations surveyed believe they can be made on software maintenance costs (71%), initial software development time (33%) and initial development costs (33%).
The report said that the volume of open source software development is set to rise over the next three years. In 2009, 20% of software developments were in open source, and this is predicted to rise marginally to 23% in 2010 and to 27% by 2013.
However, less than a third (29%) surveyed are willing to contribute their own offerings back to the community. In addition, lack of senior management support, training and insufficient open source alternatives are hindering further adoption of open source software, survey revealed.
