Business Open Source Use Up 26% in One Year

CBR is reporting that open source use in the workplace is continuing to grow at an astonishing rate. Up 26% since last year, businesses are using 94 different open source tools to get the job done. "[OpenLogic's] breakdown of licenses for the top 25 packages found that Apache, not the GPL, is the most common license. 62% of the packages use Apache, 27% use some variant of GPL and 4% each use BSD, CPL, Eclipse, MPL and Perl licenses (since packages may be released under two or more licenses, percentages total to more than 100%).

Business Open Source Use Up 26% in One Year

[Hatta (162192)]

Um, 26% of what?

Re:Business Open Source Use Up 26% in One Year

[abigor (540274)]

From the article:

"Enterprises on average used a whopping 94 different open source packages last year, compared to 75 in 2006..."

Re:Business Open Source Use Up 26% in One Year

[Poltras (680608)]

From the article:

"Enterprises on average used a whopping 94 different open source packages last year, compared to 75 in 2006..."

So they have more choice. They don't necessarily use them more often. It's like saying that you doubled the tools used because you took the screwdriver - but you simply used it once... Am I getting this right?

Re:Business Open Source Use Up 26% in One Year

[Otter (3800)]

It also happens to be 25%, not 26%. But, yeah, that's an absurd statistic.

Re:Business Open Source Use Up 26% in One Year

[clang_jangle (975789)]

Not only is the summary is extremely misleading, it links to an equally misleading blog post with no direct link to TFA, which I found here [ebizq.net]

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[jimicus (737525)]

"Enterprises on average used a whopping 94 different open source packages last year, compared to 75 in 2006..."

You know, I'm sure the most basic Debian install is at least that many packages.

Re:Business Open Source Use Up 26% in One Year

[sm62704 (957197)]

If yestdrday's post was correct, 26% of .08%. Of course we're talking not just Linux here of course ;)

However, as I pointed ot then, it's impossible to measure OSS use. OSS use by businesses would be pretty damned inaccurate, but wouldn't be as "out of my orifice" as desktop Linux use.

Clemons (Twain for those who like pseudonyms) spoke of three kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies, and statistics.

Re:Business Open Source Use Up 26% in One Year

[jonbryce (703250)]

I read somewhere that something like 90% of large companies use free and open source software somewhere in their business.

This probably isn't on their desktop machines of course. It is more likely to be things like web. dns and email servers, and network routers.

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[The Anarchist Avenge (1004563)]

I work on the factory floor of a screen printing company, and I always get a kick out of seeing the OO.o icon in the start menu on the factory computers. Apparently my employers didn't want to shell out the license fees to microsoft for 80+ computers so that they could use Word maybe once or twice a week.

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[xSauronx (608805)]

hard to blame them. my brother is a college student and doesnt want to even shell out 60 bucks for Office 2007 ultimate (a special student price) because, presently, he just doesnt care and only needs to write a paper.

one of my courses require it (meh) which means not only using office, but having to boot into windows to do it. its better than OO, for certain, but i just write essays and basic research papers, why its required is beyond me.

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[cheater512 (783349)]

At my uni they give away Vista, XP, Office, Server 2003, etc... and still no one uses it.

Re:Business Open Source Use Up 26% in One Year

[roguetrick (1147853)]

At my uni they make us pay for Vista, XP, Office, Server 2003, etc by adding it to our tuition... and still no one uses it.

Fixed that for ya boss.

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[techno-vampire (666512)]

Well, what do you expect? You're getting it for nothing and we all know that what you get for nothing is good for nothing.

Re:Business Open Source Use Up 26% in One Year

[nschubach (922175)]

At my workplace, they approved a few different open source applications, FlashDevelop for the eLearning Flash content, Audacity, and Eclipse for some of the Web development. I'm sure there were a couple others. Though, I somehow don't think these types of software are counted in the OP survey or I'd think it would be a higher number.

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[TheRaven64 (641858)]

I suspect their numbers for BSD and MIT licenses are far too low too. Did they check the about boxes on all of the closed-source software to see if it included any BSDL code?

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[jonbryce (703250)]

It probably isn't open source software if you can't get hold of the source because someone has taken some BSD code and closed it.

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[Dystopian Rebel (714995)]

If there's one thing that infuriates me here, its Prescriptivist Slashdot Orthography Nazis telling us how we must spell people's names.

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[at_slashdot (674436)]

26% of 44.5%. Duh!

Licence use

[jonbryce (703250)]

Surely if most people use Apache, they also use something like php along with it? So why doesn't the php licence appear near the top of the list?

Re:Licence use

[abigor (540274)]

Apache license != Apache web server

Re:Licence use

[Cecil (37810)]

Surely not. Apache can do a lot more than merely serve PHP apps.

Obviously, it can serve any static files all on its own, and it can serve any other type of CGI as well (C, shell, Perl, Python, Ruby, the list goes on). Apache Tomcat is a enterprise-level Java server, and I suspect this is where a large amount of the corporate usage falls under. Apache can also be used as a WebDAV server, it can be used as a Subversion server too.

PHP is a hobbyist thing, not a corporate thing.

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[LordLucless (582312)]

You've got to be joking. I see more jobs for PHP developers/maintainers than for any other web technologies (with the possible exception of .NET). I also know tonnes of businesses, universities, government departments, etc that run their sites using PHP. It is definitely a corporate thing. It might not be suitable for "enterprise level" (whatever that is) projects - it's easy to get REALLY messy PHP code when you start building something big/complex. But a big, important business does not necessarily necess

Re:Licence use

[dgatwood (11270)]

"It's easy to get really messy [insert language here] code when you start building something big/complex."

There. Fixed that for ya. :-)

Re:

[smitty_one_each (243267)]

This outburst of cynicism might indicate that you've never tried Web Services [online-churches.net].

Re:Licence use

[snuf23 (182335)]

Just because you use Apache HTTP server doesn't mean you are running PHP. Apache can be used to serve all kinds of dynamic content. For example:

Apache -> Tomcat (Java)
Apache -> Mongrel (ruby on rails)
Apache -> CGI (whatever)

I would guess that Apache/Tomcat/Jboss installs are more common than PHP in commercial enterprises.
As others have mentioned there are tons of projects using the Apache license. Spamassassin is a good example.

Re:

[mhall119 (1035984)]

I would imagine things like Ant, Log4J and Commons alone count for the majority of the APL code.

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[mhall119 (1035984)]

And also Struts, Velocity, Axis, Xerces/Xalan, etc. Most of the APL code business use is going to be library and component code, not end products like Httpd and Tomcat.

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[dgatwood (11270)]

What specifically is giving you fits? I've never had too much trouble with correctness when doing OO in PHP, though I have found PHP to be particularly bad at performance when doing anything involving manipulating large trees of objects. In such cases, I've seen as much as two orders of magnitude speedup by trivial translation of PHP code into C....

We use Postgresql everywhere now

[uuxququex (1175981)]

After a lot of testing and benchmarking we moved our Oracle databases (OLTP and DWH) to Postgresql. We also looked at MySQL, by the way. Our production servers were migrated in August 2007 and so far everything has been very stable. It's too soon to really tell, but there is a feeling it is more stable than our previous Oracle setup.

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[stoolpigeon (454276)]

Nice. Are you doing any kind of replication? How about partitioning? If so did you do it in house or hire somebody to help out with that. I haven't worked with Postgres in about 4 years - so I've lost touch just a bit with what's been happening there.
 
And are the apps using that back-end all custom or is there commercial stuff that can use Postgres? I'm especially interested in that on the warehouse side.

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[uuxququex (1175981)]

I don't have exact details (I'm a Pointy Haired Boss) but we have some sort of replication going on. A few developers are looking in to the code for that, as it is one of the areas that we might be able to improve upon. It's only just started so there are no results yet.

We did the migration in house, without any major issues. The data warehouse was a bit of a challenge as it contains around 3 terabyte of data, and Oracle took forever to dump. Loading it in Postgresql was a breeze though! ;-)

All our appl

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[ScrewMaster (602015)]

I must say, you're a remarkably well-informed PHB.

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[StormReaver (59959)]

"It's too soon to really tell, but there is a feeling it is more stable than our previous Oracle setup."

That's been my experience, too. We've been using PostgreSQL in mission-critical capacities for years (our revenues depend on it), and it hasn't let us down yet. Oracle, on the other hand, has been rather...unpredictable.

Meanwhile, Microsoft adds $44 b debt burden

[christian.einfeldt (874074)]

Is it possible that Microsoft will come to regret paying a premium for a business position in an industry it has yet to master, despite extraordinary expenditures (on-line revenue generation). Looky at how much ground Microft must make up to catch Google:
Rank Search Engine Volume
1. www.google.com 65.98%
2. search.yahoo.com 20.88%
3. search.msn.com 5.33%
4. www.ask.com 4.14%

http://www.hitwise.com/datacenter/searchengineanalysis.php [hitwise.com]

Note that msn searches have declined despite significant investment by the borg in pumping up its performance. There is strong reason to believe that Microsoft will not be able to tie its Yahoo properties to its Microosft Windows and Microsoft Office monopolies, and there is not a single one of Microsoft's properties that have succeeded to drive significantly scaled revenue unless it is tied to the Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office monopolies. Halo was a huge seller, but them Microsoft sold off the Bungie, the creator of Halo, on October 1, 2007 after milking the cow dry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bungie_Studios [wikipedia.org]

Microsoft took a $1 billion hit on the X-box:

http://www.news.com/Microsoft-to-extend-Xbox-360-warranty,-take-1-billion-hit/2100-1014_3-6195058.html [news.com]

The X-box was wildy outsold by Wii. MSNBC is popular but not a huge money maker. There is simply nothing outside the Microsoft Windows / Microsoft Office monopoly that shows signs of supporting Microsoft's stock is down 6.35% at the moment on the day, despite the Yahoo announcement. MSFT's stock is trading at $30.51, meaning that it is right back down in the same dolldrums where it has been since Q3 2003 , with no intervening splits!

There are lots of analysts talking about a glut of Vista machines, and wondering if CompUSA's bk might be the canary in Microsoft's coal mine. Microsoft's recent report of a 67% increase on its net reflects ADVANCE SALES of Vista licenses which Microsoft imposes on its vendors. If its vendors are overstocked with Vista machines, you wonder how much more Microsoft can cram down the pipeline in coming quarters.

In the meantime, Linux and Unix boxes have been selling very well on Amazon.com and swept all the categories for Amazon for 2007. From a recent story on /.'s fp:

http://linux.slashdot.org/linux/07/12/29/1959244.shtml [slashdot.org]
"Computers and handheld devices running default GNU Linux or Unix OSes have swept Amazon's 'best of' list for 2007, according BusinessWire.com for 28 December 2007. Best selling computer? The Nokia Internet Tablet PC, running Linux. Best reviewed computer? The Apple MacBook Pro notebook PC. Most wished for computer? Asus Eee 4G-Galaxy 7-inch PC mobile Internet device, which comes with Xandros Linux pre-installed. And last, but not least, the most frequently gifted computer: The Apple MacBook notebook PC."

Sure, MSFT is powerful, but with this Yahoo acquisition, they are taking on premium-weighted debt, and it really raises a question as to whether that asset will justify the premium. Yahoo has been declining, and it is not clear that the mere acquisition of Yahoo by Microsoft will succeed where Microsoft has failed in all of their other non-Windows-Office monopoly. That is the $44 billion dollar question, IMHO.

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[westlake (615356)]

with this Yahoo acquisition, they are taking on premium-weighted debt

Microsoftr has $20 billion in cash. Microsoft saw a 79% rise in its quarterly profit. Microsoft is coining money.

Re:

[jedidiah (1196)]

Hey! Whataminute. I thought Microsoft had $40 billion cash.

Time to pull up those couch cushions...

Re:

[jonbryce (703250)]

They started paying dividends a few years back, something they never did before. That will reduce their cash pile as it is now in the hands of shareholders.

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[TheRaven64 (641858)]

And last, but not least, the most frequently gifted computer: The Apple MacBook notebook PC.

Where are all of these people who gift[1] MacBooks, and why don't I know any of them?

[1] Verbing weirds language.

Re:

[nschubach (922175)]

Damn, now that I already read it, it's hard to ignore! ;)

Recession?

[Average (648)]

Perhaps the start of a recession (or recession talk) is leading to a second and third look at the question "could we get away with using FOSS software in this task?". Training costs are one thing. But, in a deep enough recession, people are looking to save their jobs. They'll learn whatever they are told to learn, and they'll do it on their own time (go read the FOSS community pages/wiki if need be). Those that can't, well, will be the first to be furloughed.

Vista

[MillionthMonkey (240664)]

This may be a stretch, but after Microsoft Vista, I think the business community could be losing confidence in Microsoft's future. They might fear that if they use MS products, they could lose support and there would be no one left to assume liability.

Re:

[masdog (794316)]

I think it will take more than Vista to cause the business community to start to lose confidence in Microsoft. They have several other strong product lines that many businesses rely upon for their operations, and one bad desktop operating system isn't going to make a Sys Admin or DBA reconsider Windows Server, Exchange, or SQL Server.

If anything, Microsoft has shaken the confidence of the consumer market with Vista, the XBox 360 RRoD, HD-DVD, and the Windows Home Server corruption problems. In the gran

Re:

[jez9999 (618189)]

If something were to happen that would greatly harm Microsoft to the point that they would be going out of business (like this attempted hostile takeover of Yahoo)

On what evidence do you base the assertion that Microsoft's takeover of Yahoo will put MS out of business (don't get me wrong, I want it to happen, but it's wishful thinking)?

adoption

[rpillala (583965)]

I am in a "graduate" program where we frequently get projects that require photo manipulation, presentations, etc. They also require us to work in groups. Since not everyone is from my same company we don't always have access to the same software to collaborate. I've been using this as an excuse to introduce people to things like GIMP and OpenOffice. The appeal of a free program that gets the specific tasks done that we need is pretty compelling. I don't know how many of them pass this kind of information on, but I know a few of them have gotten hooked.

It's the number of free software packages up 26%

[clang_jangle (975789)]

According to TFA [ebizq.net] it's the number of free software packages that's "up 26%", not business use of free software.

Bad submitter, bad!!!.
Bad editors, bad! Bad!

take that BSA!

[nurb432 (527695)]

Oh, and everyone else making life rough for paying customers, and treating them like criminals.

OpenOffice has a big role in this

[rastoboy29 (807168)]

In the last year or two, I can't tell you how many times people have asked me where they could get a good deal on MS Office, only to have me mention OpenOffice as a free alternative and had it eagerly siezed upon.

It's strange, really. I'm like "You must need to open that spreadsheet file?" and they're like "It's an *.xls!" "Yess...why don't you try this out?" "It can open this file!?" "Probably" and then so far it's always been fine and they're quite elated not to have had to buy MS

No Open Source = DEATH

[ianare (1132971)]

We are very, very reliant on OSS, so much so that the company would fold without them. All our servers are linux if possible (some apps require a MS server, i.e. quickbooks), we use python scripts (on windows WS) for many daily tasks, many of our GUI apps are wxPython, our project mangement/tracking system is a custom-made PHP/MySQL/Apache deal, most of our workstations use OO.o rather than MS Office (the execs have it though), the company website is on apache/PHP, our email system is Scalix on centOS. The

Re:

[msuarezalvarez (667058)]

That has nothing to do with `statistics'. It is a simple fact of life that if you look at non-disjoint subsets, the sum of their sizes may very well be larger that the size of their union. This does not make knowing the sizes of the different subsets useless...

Linux actually is the most popular OS

[flyingfsck (986395)]

Well, Asus alone plans to sell about 50% more Eee PCs (5 million) than Apple sells Macs (3 million) in 2008. So this is the year when Linux desktop sales may equal or exceed Linux server sales. If you count all Linux devices, then Linux is actually the most popular OS ever, with about 300 million Linux devices sold each year. If we assume a typical life of 5 years for embedded devices routers and cell phones, then there should be at least 1.5 billion Linux devices out there, compared to about 600 million Windows devices.