Open Source Approaching 30% Of Enterprise Software

Open source software continues to gain traction in the enterprise, with more than half the respondents in a recent survey saying they've adopted such software as part of their IT strategy, according to a new Gartner study.

During the past five years, businesses have extended their adoption of open source software (OSS), typically at the expense of proprietary software, according to Gartner research. Five years ago, open source accounted for less than 10% of an organization's software portfolio, but is expected to represent more than 30% within the next 18 months, the research firm said. Simultaneously, internally developed software use has increased, suggesting OSS now is often used in conjunction with software created in-house, not as a total replacement of custom-written software, Gartner said.