Saving money, rather than innovation or modernization demands, is now the leading reason why organizations use open source software, according to OpenLogic’s latest report.
Innovation and modernizing the technology stack are no longer the top reasons organizations use open source software, according to a new survey.
Instead, what is old is new again, as saving money via overall cost reductions and license costs is the leading reason, cited by 37% of the respondents in the “2024 State of Open Source Report,” the third annual study by OpenLogic by Perforce.
For 31% of respondents, the availability of functionality of existing was cited as a top reason to use open source.
Access to innovations and the latest technologies was the leading reason in the previous two studies, but was mentioned by only 27%, down from 44% in 2021. Other notable trends:
- Modernizing technology stacks fell in importance, going from 37% in 2021 to 20% in 2023.
- The availability of a large selection of options for similar functionality also fell in importance for open source users, going from 31% in 2021 to only 8% in the latest study.
Note that most organizations do make a binary choice to use or not to use all types of open source software. Instead, they usually make decisions to use open source components on a case-by-case basis.
Responses from more than 2,000 participants were included in the survey, which was conducted in October and November.
