Open Source is Eating the Software World

Well over a decade ago, in my operating career, Open Source presented itself as a solution to a critical development deadline for one of my engineering teams. I was inspired. Little did I know how this would evolve.  As I entered the world of Venture Capital, I was determined to support Open Source Software development by seeking out and investing in the best and brightest people behind it. 

As I began that work, I quickly found a deep gulf between those who were driving the OSS movement and those attempting to learn from and work with it.  The quest to understand and close this gap drove me to work with the industry and create among other things a survey that is now in its 7^th year.

This year North Bridge partners with two important industry players Black Duck Software and Forrester Research and engages over 30 collaborators from large influencers like Red Hat to major community players such as SugarCRM and Acquia to explore key issues related to open source adoption and establish this year’s benchmarks for comparison. 

With a record breaking 822 respondents, the survey reveals open source is eating the software world with significant advantages in competitive features, quality and security over proprietary alternatives. Increasingly, enterprises see it as leading innovation -- a cultural shift supported by executives’ openness to work with active and strong communities. Broader adoption across all industries is creating a virtuous cycle of innovation and investment – driven by principles of collaboration, speed and transparency. Going forward, we can expect more disruption from open source, new business models and many more exciting new projects and companies.

These major themes are highlighted in the Open Revolution: 2013 Future of Open Source infographic and press release which provide more information about the suvery.

For the first time ever, a live panel discussion reveals the survey results. Our expert panel includes:

• Tim Yeaton, CEO and President, Black Duck
• Michael Skok, General Partner at North Bridge Venture Partners
• Jeffrey Hammond, VP, Principal Analyst Serving Application Development & Delivery Professionals, Forrester Research
• Rob Bearden, CEO at Hortonworks
• Ed Tilford, Head of Open Source Governance at Thomson Reuters
• Tom Erickson, CEO at Acquia

Join in the #FutureOSS discussion on Twitter!