Numbers Don’t Lie: France Leads in Open Source Adoption

December 23, 2015

Contributed by Mathieu Le Faucheur 

The number of open source software users is rising – and as Dries Buytaert, founder of Drupal and champion of OSS famously said, “The numbers don’t lie.” Among large- and small-to-mid-size enterprises, the demand for open source databases is surging, as organizations seek to replicate the success they experienced at the operating system and middleware layers with Linux and JBoss. They are thus (i) deploying open source based databases like EDB Postgres for new applications, (ii) migrating existing workloads and redirecting spend to more innovative initiatives, and (iii) realizing significant savings in the total cost of database ownership.  

In fact, the open source model continues to radically change companies’ relationship vis–à–vis technology. A recent study by French research firm Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC) found that 75% of French companies considered open source a major factor of innovation and development of digital technologies. Open source also is helping companies in France generate greater revenue. The PAC study found that just the open source software program Libre alone has generated €4,1 billion in France, a 33% increase from 2012. 

According to Forrester Research, among the major countries of the European Union, companies in France already are well on their way in the adoption of open source software.

Forrester’s research reveals that 24% of companies in France have adopted open source software, followed by Germany with 21% of companies. By comparison, the research found 17% of U.S. companies have adopted open source software. The following illustrates the differences in adoption rates among organizations in Europe and the United States:

  1. In the survey, U.S. companies named security as their first criteria in choosing software while Europeans placed greater value on the quality of the software. It has taken longer for U.S. organizations to accept that open source is secure enough to support business use cases.
  2. The European Union, through a resolution of the European Parliament, called for European institutions to replace its vendors’ software with open source software in order to reinforce technological independence. This was known as Section 47 of a report that condemned mass surveillance of citizens following the Edward Snowden disclosures.
  3. In France, the government recently has passed the Digital Republic Bill, which addresses a broad range of Internet and digital rights issues but features several high-profile open source related initiatives for governments and schools to adopt open source software. While the bill still faces a final vote in January, and won’t change things overnight, it certainly revealed the views of French citizens. More than 100,000 people voted on provisions of the bill during public comment.

Open source software offers a powerful alternative for companies’ digital transformation as IT redirects spend toward more strategic and innovative applications of engagement. Companies across all industries have deployed open source for mission-critical applications including financial services, healthcare and defense. It is now considered a tool for innovation and transformation.

Yves Caseau, former CTO of Bouygues Telecom, has taken the message further. He has publicly called the transition to open source a ‘must do’ to improve software quality and to respond to companies’ needs in terms of agility and innovation.

EDB is helping organizations worldwide make the transition to open source with their data infrastructure. With EDB Postgres, organizations can gain greater independence without sacrificing performance or security for business critical workloads.

For information on how EDB and Postgres and can help transform your IT infrastructure, visit our website or contact us directly.

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