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Press Releases
Global Open Source Census Launches to Count Enterprise Use of Open Source Software
OpenLogic, IDC, Open Source Organizations and Others Sponsor Industry-Wide, Collaborative Initiative
BROOMFIELD, Colo., April 16, 2008 - The Open Source Census, a new global, collaborative project to collect and share quantitative data on the use of open source software, today announced its founding sponsors and launched the Census. With this announcement, companies and individuals are now able to anonymously submit data on their use of open source though The Open Source Census web site: www.osscensus.org. Participants in The Open Source Census will also gain access to reports that benchmark their open source usage.
The Open Source Census is a project established by OpenLogic and a wide range of sponsors - including IDC; CollabNet; Holme, Roberts & Owen LLP; Navica; Olliance Group; Open Solutions Alliance; Open Source Business Foundation; O'Reilly Media; and Unisys - to provide improved data on how open source software is used in the enterprise. The Open Source Census also has enlisted advisors from the open source development community, including Jim Jagielski, Chairman of the Apache Foundation and Tony Wasserman, Director, Software Management Program at Carnegie Melon West.
Goals of The Open Source Census
The overarching goal of The Open Source Census is to paint an accurate portrait of open source usage in the enterprise. Until now, many enterprises did not know what open source software is installed on servers and desktops -- making traditional market research methodologies insufficient to identify what open source projects are gaining traction in the enterprise.
Enterprises Can Benchmark Open Source Usage
Yet the demand for this information is great, as enterprises struggle to sift through thousands of open source projects to determine what might work for them. Using OSS Discovery, an open source tool, enterprises or individuals can now scan any of their computers and contribute the scan results back into The Open Source Census database -- anonymously and free of charge. Once they have contributed scans, participants will have access to reports that summarize their own open source usage and provide comparisons to other similar companies. These reports will enable companies to benchmark their own open source usage and identify opportunities to leverage the benefits of more open source software.
Aggregate Census Data Available on the Web
Aggregate, anonymous data collected through The Open Source Census will be provided for free on a web site. This aggregate data will list the number of times each project has been installed on computers across all participating enterprises and individuals, enabling open source communities and developers to track usage of their projects.
"IDC is pleased to be the industry analyst sponsor of the Open Source Census," said Matt Lawton, Program Director, Open Source Software Business Strategies at IDC. "Open source software continues to grow in deployment, but until now the industry has relied on downloads or best guesses from enterprises as a rough measure of adoption. The Open Source Census will provide the industry with much more granular information about where downloads are being installed, enabling both customers and IT solution providers to better understand the true impact that open source software is having. IDC will be helping to ensure such data is interpreted consistently, as well as combining this information with other IDC research to present a more complete picture of open source adoption."
"We are thrilled to see so many other open source organizations and vendors both big and small, research and academic groups, and community leaders and members get behind The Open Source Census," said Kim Weins, Senior Vice President of Marketing at OpenLogic. "To make The Open Source Census successful, requires this type of ongoing industry-wide cooperation. We are all excited to see The Open Source Census start counting enterprise open source installations, so we can then share these results and further enable adoption of open source in the enterprise."
Open Source Census Sponsors
Sponsors include OpenLogic; IDC; CollabNet; Holme, Roberts & Owen LLP; Navica; Olliance Group; Open Solutions Alliance; Open Source Business Foundation and O'Reilly Media. Serving as advisors to the Open Source Census are Jim Jagielski, Chairman of the Apache Foundation and Tony Wasserman, Director, Software Management Program at Carnegie Melon West.
CollabNet
"The acceptance and adoption of open source software has accelerated in the past 18 months, both in large enterprises and SMBs," said Martin Doettling, vice president of corporate marketing at CollabNet. "The Open Source Census project will not only generate valuable data about the actual usage of open source, it will also provide insight into the growing adoption of open-source development practices in the enterprise. The CollabNet platform, which hosts the OSS Discovery project and associated community, was designed to bring the benefits of open source development to the enterprise, enabling development organizations to drive innovation through open collaboration."
Holme, Roberts & Owen LLP
"Sound open source governance means making each use of open source software a knowing and compliant use. This process starts with understanding what open source software is installed and in use in your organization," said Jason Haislmaier, a partner with the law firm of Holme Roberts & Owen LLP and the head of the firm's Technology and Intellectual Property Transactions practice. "The Open Source Census will help businesses take the first step by uncovering what's actually installed on their machines."
Jim Jagielski, advisor to the Census
"As open source adoption continues to grow, so does the community that is so integral to its success," said Jim Jagielski, Chairman of the Apache Software Foundation. "The Open Source Census will provide new, invaluable feedback that developers and community members can use to improve their projects."
Navica
"The enterprises Navica works with all want to know what peer companies are doing with open source. In the past, there was only anecdotal evidence. With the Open Source Census, there is finally an objective resource to help companies understand how they can take more advantage of open source," said Navica's CEO Bernard Golden.
Olliance Group
"Today's launch of the Open Source Census is a big step forward in understanding how much open source software is being used in enterprises and in government today,," said Andrew Aitken, CEO of the Olliance Group. "We encourage enterprises to participate as there are many benefits in seeing how other similarly sized enterprises are deploying open source software."
Open Solutions Alliance
"As the home to some of today's most successful commercial open source companies, the OSA is confident about the inroads that open source is making in the enterprise," said Dominic Sartorio, president of the Open Solutions Alliance. "Since we're in the mainstream phase of open source adoption, The Open Source Census will give us a better idea of what type of open source software is being used now."
Open Source Business Foundation
"The spread of open source is pretty universal-we're a European network of companies, institutions and individuals concerned with the commercial use of open source software" said Frank P. Sempert of the Open Source Business Foundation. "So much of open source software code has originated in Europe - it will be great to see how much open source adoption has taken place."
Unisys
"We help our enterprise clients use open source technology to achieve their business goals," said Anthony Gold, Vice President and General Manager of Open Source Business for Unisys Corporation. "Corporate users of open source will see value in data from The Open Source Census including being able to see what projects are being used by other corporations in their respective industry and geography. We hope this will lead to even greater adoption of open source technology since the data will illustrate the many applications of open source and in turn, its tangible benefits."
How The Open Source Census Works
Using an open source tool created by OpenLogic called OSS Discovery, IT teams can automatically scan a sampling of machines to identify which open source packages and versions are installed. These scans gather completely anonymous data on which open source packages and versions are installed. Scan results can then be automatically submitted to a repository on The Open Source Census web site. Participants can review the actual results of the scans before they decide whether to submit the data. The Open Source Census member organizations can distribute OSS Discovery under a dual license - either the GNU Affero General Public License version 3 or a commercial license.
Each enterprise that contributes scans to The Open Source Census receives online access to a summary of their own open source usage, as well as comparisons to industry benchmarks, which can help enterprises uncover new opportunities to leverage the functionality, quality and cost savings associated with open source software.
To contribute data to The Open Source Census, go to www.osscensus.org.
About The Open Source Census
The Open Source Census is a global, collaborative project to collect and share quantitative data on the use of open source software in enterprise. Founded by OpenLogic, the Open Source Census has a number of sponsors including OpenLogic, IDC, The Open Source Census initiative has open source tools designed to scan individual enterprise computers for all installed open source software. The results of these scans can then be contributed anonymously to the Open Source Census, where the aggregate data is published.
About OpenLogic
OpenLogic is a leading provider of open source solutions that enable enterprises to safely acquire, support, and control open source software. OpenLogic provides enterprises with a certified library of open source software that encompasses hundreds of the most popular open source packages via OpenLogic Exchange (OLEX), a free web site where companies can find, research, and download certified, enterprise-ready open source packages on demand. With the broadest open source coverage in the industry, OpenLogic offers indemnification; updates; and enterprise-grade technical support backed by the OpenLogic Expert Community. OpenLogic also provides solutions for open source governance and to automate the integration and deployment of open source components -- reducing the risk and maximizing the cost savings associated with using open source software. For more on OpenLogic, go to www.openlogic.com.
Press Contact
For press inquiries please contact Bret Clement at or 303.462.3057.
