Open source technologies are an increasingly viable choice for enterprise CIOs, as the space continues to advance in safety, flexibility, sophistication and availability. Ben Slater, Chief Product Officer at open-source as-a-service company Instaclustr, shares 4 reasons why open source is poised for even more enterprise adoption in the near future.
The sheer volume of enterprise applications built on top of open source technologies has ascended to levels largely unimaginable a decade ago. The cost benefits of open source adoption have always been known, but open sourceOpens a new window solutions have also made significant strides in availability, security, and flexibility. Backed by strong communities that ensure project growth and support, open-source isn’t just an alternative to proprietary solutions: in most cases, it’s now far and away the better choice.
So, what comes next? I see open source as continuing to grow in popularity and adoption.
Here are four reasons why open source software’s enterprise momentum will continue over the next year or two:
1) “Big cloud†Anxiety Accelerates Open Source Adoption
As cloud transformations become all but ubiquitous, expect enterprises to feel increasing anxiety if they depend on major cloud providers to both house and deliver their solutions. Many businesses will find out they want more control of their risk when it comes to these dependencies. They’ll want to ensure they can be able to shift or add cloud providers – if and when needed – and open source technologies provide a more flexible way to transport environments across providers.
Learn More: Empower the Responsible Management of Open Source SoftwareOpens a new window
2) Vendor Lock-in Consequences Make Anything Short of Full Software Ownership Unacceptable
Just about every enterprise is already a software company, whether they think of it that way or not. Even businesses that don’t directly sell a software product are still defined by the software-based capabilities that deliver their actual products or user experiences. This is a one-way trend, and it really makes it an absolute need for enterprises to truly own the entire software stack they utilize. The costs and risks of vendor lock-in, effectively renting key parts of your strategic business capability, become a dangerous liability.
Enterprises that allow a proprietary technology vendor to control major dependencies of their own operations often find themselves stuck in the position of being forced to accept whatever terms those vendors dictate – no matter how unpleasant or unexpected. Closed source vendors that are allowed this upper hand can be merciless in exploiting it, changing licenses and licensing fees as they see fit (to the point of customers calling it extortionOpens a new window ). Fears of vendor lock-in – and the horror stories that continue to confirm them – will drive more enterprises to adopt open source software as a way of mitigating against those perilous dependencies.
Learn More: Scality CEO on Why the Future of Infrastructure Is Open SourceOpens a new window
3) The Market for Open Source Technology is Becoming More Sophisticated
Companies across the board are demonstrating an increasing and deepening understanding of open source. This is true both when it comes to licensing intricacies and vetting open source projects, and in terms of possessing the technical savvy to wield open source technology with confidence. I’ve found that over the past two or three years, many more enterprises really understand the “why†and “how†behind open source projects, why a strong open source project community is critical for both the near- and long-term, the importance of foundations that provide governance, and other key nuances that go far beyond “open source is a budget-saver.â€
One area in this context where enterprises still have a way to go, however, is being able to truly distinguish free and open source software controlled by an independent body from “open core†projects owned by a single company. Not all things labeled “open sourceOpens a new window †are created equal, and not understanding what you’re getting can put an enterprise right back on a vendor lock-in track. I think that going forward, enterprises will get smarter about these decisions, to ensure they fully control their own software at the source level (and are thus more able to make innovative enhancements). The macro effect of this savvy will be a marketplace that increasingly delivers true and fully open source solutions.
Learn More: Top 10 Open Source Automation Testing Tools for 2020Opens a new window
4) Open-Source Technologies Advance Across Multiple Fronts
Open source will continue to mature in several young spaces where the landscape is yet to be determined – and will arrive in others where it’s potential is apparent.
The data streaming technology space provides an interesting example. As I see it, there’s actually so much good open source technology in this particular space that consolidation is inevitable. I predict the market will narrow down to one or two major pieces of technology, one of which will likely be the very popular Kafka Streams. Apache Flink is another option that currently commands a great deal of attention.
Another example of enterprise-enabling open source proliferation is in the open-source AIOpens a new window space. TensorFlowOpens a new window is the well-known incumbent solution that I expect will be joined by countless other technologies that are just now emerging.
Finally, the so-called “NewSQL†space is ready for a true open source offering that provides highly-scalable SQLOpens a new window databases, and I predict we will see one.
As enterprises become increasingly adept at understanding the oft-nuanced details of disparate open source offerings, the projects that rise to the top will find themselves part of more enterprises’ architecture for years to come – while those demanding limitations or any kind of lock-in will fade.
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