For Application Development & Delivery Professionals

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	June 23, 2005 Open Source Usage Is Up, But Concerns Linger Cost Benefits Rank High, But Support Is Uncertain by Michael Goulde with Liz Barnett, Kimberly Q. Dowling, Lindsey Hogan

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Executive Summary

In January 2005, Forrester surveyed 137 North American IT decision-makers to learn about their companies' plans for Linux and open source software. According to this sample, Linux and open source are continuing to gain acceptance and the holdouts are declining. Cost savings continue to be the driver behind adoption, although other benefits, such as security and software choice, are also important. LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and Perl/Python/PHP) continues to be the leading open source development platform. Support issues are an important concern, and options for obtaining various support services seem limited. Some of the high-visibility issues, such as liability for copyright infringement, aren't a major concern among respondents; this indicates a growing level of sophistication among open source software users. On the other hand, highly touted advantages of open source — especially the ability to view and modify the source code — aren't seen as important by most of the respondents. Customers who are still on the fence about adopting open source software should understand that presumed barriers don't seem to be blocking most companies from moving ahead with open source strategies.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Learning From Key Findings
• Open Source Use Continues To Increase
• LAMP Is The Leading Application Platform
• Cost Containment Is The Leading Benefit Expected From Open Source Software
• Support Leads The Parade Of Customer Concerns
• Source Code Access Is Not A Priority
• Policy: The Role Of Steering Committees Is Not Well Defined
• Open Source Disappointments Are Few, But Complexity Leads The List
• Red Hat Has The Strongest Open Source Brand

WHAT IT MEANS

• Adopting Open Source Requires Commitment To Make It Work
• Supplemental Material
• Related Research Documents

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