February 16, 2022

2022 Open Source Report Overview: Motivations for OSS Adoption

Open Source

Understanding the ebb and flow of open source software trends can be difficult. Every year we see a new wave of innovative new open source technologies, and every year we see the gradual decline of old favorites. Even the reasons why organizations are adopting these technologies are in constant flux.

In our 2022 State of Open Source Report, we look at the top technologies and trends that are shaping open source software. More importantly, we try and find the "why" behind these changes. In this blog, we provide an overview of some of the key findings from our new report, including details on the expanded use of open source software, why open source adoption is on the rise, and the top obstacles teams are facing in using open source today.

About the 2022 State of Open Source Report

The 2022 State of Open Source Report from OpenLogic by Perforce and the Open Source Initiative (OSI) provides data on the most popular open source technologies used today, and sheds light on the benefits and barriers organizations experience when adopting open source software. 

The report covers the most important open source software technologies used today – ranging from infrastructure technologies and programming languages to DevOps tooling and Artificial Intelligence technologies. The report also looks at open source maturity and strategy indicators that provide insight into the trajectory of open source and broader technology strategies for organizations around the world.

Download the Full 2022 State of Open Source Report

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Respondents Demographics and Firmographics

The 2022 State of Open Source Report is based on an anonymous survey conducted between November 30, 2021, and January 6, 2022. It targeted professionals around the world working with open source software in their organizations. The survey received a total of 2,660 responses from respondents from all 

To help segment and analyze the survey results, we asked respondents basic demographic and firmographic questions, including their company vertical, size, and region.

Company Size

Company size was a nearly even split, with healthy representation from companies of all sizes.

graph showing respondent company size
Source: https://www.openlogic.com/resources/2022-open-source-report

Region

While the survey did reach nearly every region of the globe, respondents were primarily from the North American region.

graph showing respondent region
Source: https://www.openlogic.com/resources/2022-open-source-report

What We Asked and Why

In this year's survey, we continued our focus on open source technology adoption, with sections studying the adoption of open source technologies used in infrastructure, programming languages / runtimes, frameworks, data layer, SDLC and build, automation / orchestration, CI/CD, and artificial intelligence.

We also asked about the open source priorities and strategies of respondents, with further questions on overall open source maturity and stewardship.

By asking these questions alongside the above demographic/firmographic questions, we were able to get a meaningful glimpse into how companies around the world are using and contributing to open source software.

Open Source Adoption and Expansion in 2022

One of the best measuring sticks for any technology type is how many people expanded their use of that technology type in the past year. Our survey found that 77% increased the use of OSS in the past year, with 36% reporting that they increased use significantly.

graph from 2022 state of open source report showing open source expansion
Source: https://www.openlogic.com/resources/2022-open-source-report

76% of respondents increased the use of open source software in the past year, and only 1.6% decreased their use of open source software.

Open Source Adoption by Niche

While open source may have gained popularity with programming languages and operating systems, it now has a widespread presence in nearly every corner of IT infrastructure. Our survey backed that assumption, with respondents reporting use of open source software in everything from operating systems to observability tools.

graph from 2022 state of open source report showing open source software adoption by software niche
Source: https://www.openlogic.com/resources/2022-open-source-report

Top Concerns for Open Source Adoption in 2022

Even with organizations expanding their use of open source in 2021, continuing that expansion in 2022 means facing both old and emerging challenges. The most prominent challenge?  The lack of internal skills to test, use and support open source software.

  1. Lack of internal skills to test, use, integrate, and support
  2. Restrictions in some open source licenses
  3. It doesn’t scale as well as proprietary software
  4. There’s no real-time support
  5. I don’t have any reservations
image from 2022 state of open source report showing top reservations for adopting open source software
Source: https://www.openlogic.com/resources/2022-open-source-report

30% of respondents reported lack of internal expertise as the top barrier to using open source software.

Why Organizations Are Using Open Source Software in 2022

It's no secret that open source software fuels innovation for companies of all sizes, but it hasn't always been the biggest factor in using open source. This year, we found that it was, with nearly 40% of companies reporting innovation as the top factor for using open source software. 

graph from 2022 state of open source report showing top reasons why orgs use open source software
Source: https://www.openlogic.com/resources/2022-open-source-report

 

Final Thoughts

The 2022 State of Open Source Report presents a unique and comprehensive look into the state of open source software. By collaborating with the Open Source Initiative, we were able to reach new audiences and generate the most complete report we've ever done.

This overview is just the start when it comes to the interesting insights and findings found in the report. Be sure to download it below, and stay tuned for more content and analysis in the coming weeks and months.

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2022 State of Open Source Report Preview

Get a full breakdown of the data above, plus an additional 50 pages of data and analysis when you download our free, 2022 State of Open Source Report.

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Additional Resources