Open source has it all over traditional software when
it comes to cost, flexibility and freedom from vendor lock-in.
According to a new study from Northbridge Venture Partners on the
future of open source, released on March 25 in conjunction with the Open Source Business Conference, those were the top three factors that make open source attractive.
The annual survey—which included input from OSBC
attendees and customers from Ingres, Sun Microsystems, SugarCRM, Ubuntu
and Acquia—aims to examine the future direction and current position of
open source in the marketplace.
According to the survey, a little over half of respondents—51
percent—consider open source not only a viable business model, but a
development model and a marketing model. What’s more, the survey showed
that within five years, about half of the companies would be buying 50
percent or more of their software in open-source configurations.