Credit crunch angst boosts open source software

The crashing state of the economy is not a bad thing for everybody, a recent survey by the Open Solutions Alliance uncovered.

The OSA found that the while many are keeping a watchful eye on the credit crunch, the recessionary economy has actually boosted the number of users converting to Open Source software.

The survey by OSA which was conducted in late June, of over 100 member organisations, found that 83 per cent expect a year-over-year increase in revenue in 2008 from Open Source software and related services.

Respondents' replies suggested, “the market from Open Source software and services is growing and growing fast,” the Alliance said.

Seventy-nine per cent of respondents said that price is the number one driving factor for this growth.

While it appears to be all sunshine and rainbows for Open Source, there are still concerns shown by potential customers who raise concerns the licensing and vendor viability – although this doesn’t seem to worry the OSA.