Lionel Sujay Vailshery
Research expert covering cloud computing and emerging tech industries
Open source software - statistics & facts
Open-source software, with its collaborative ethos and transparent development process, is slowly forming the core of modern technology. Computer software distributed under a license that allows users to utilize, modify, and distribute the program and its source code to anyone and for any purpose is open-source software. Most enterprises rely on open-source software to a large extent to save time and money developing and maintaining their infrastructure, eliminating the need to start from the scratch. Thus, companies continue to fuel the ever-increasing demand for professionals with skills in open-source integration while striving to enhance their digital transformation strategies.
Open-source projects
The essence of open source is the collaboration of a community in the development, testing, evaluation, and improvement of software, in communities like the popular GitHub. It is all about learning and sharing knowledge in open-source development. Developers devote considerable time and required skills towards creating, refining, and documenting a code given the potential advancement. This is what we refer to as projects in open-source development. Several popular projects have made a significant impact on society, for example, Linux, Mozilla, git, and Arduino. Another advantage for businesses using open source is that it reduces the investment costs on the infrastructure.
Open-source big players
When we mention open-source, Android entirely changed the landscape for the smartphone market. Because of the open-source movement on which it is built, Android has prospered in a competitive smartphone market, making Google a major player in this landscape in less than a decade. Various technologies apply open-source fundamentals that are looking to revolutionize the tech world in the coming years. Some key contributors in 2023 based on the open-source contributor index (OSCI) are Google, Microsoft, and Red Hat.
Trends from open source
In an increasingly connected world, technology never sleeps. With open-source development, new tech trends are taking shape to address some of the most critical business and societal challenges as we look towards a post-pandemic future. Here is a brief highlight of some of those trends. Blockchain technology, infamous for cryptocurrencies, will potentially create a base for Web 3.0, referred to as the future of the internet. Container technology is making software applications platform-independent and efficient.
Cloud computing is divided into infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). They provide users with access to store and process data via the internet in a location away from them. The Internet of Things (IoT) produces a large amount of data for various applications, helping in decision-making on events and processes. Finally, machine learning as a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) allows users to develop algorithms for handling vast amounts of data. This processed data aids in data-driven decision-making based on large datasets from photos, videos, human-written texts or IoT-sensors.
