Open source software

Extracted Attributes

• Value to Firms

  $8.8 trillion (2024 estimate)

• Core Principles

  Transparency, collaboration, decentralization, meritocracy, and open exchange

• Market Size (2024)

  $41.83 billion USD

• Cloud Migration Driver

  Shifting IT infrastructure to the cloud (cited by 54% of companies)

• Primary Adoption Driver

  Cost reduction (cited by 57% of companies)

• Secondary Adoption Driver

  Development efficiency (cited by 55% of companies)

• Projected Market Size (2025)

  $48.92 billion USD

• Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)

  16.9%

Timeline

• The economic value of open-source software to firms is estimated to reach $8.8 trillion annually. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2024-01-01

• Chamath Palihapitiya announces the 8090 incubator to leverage open-source software trends for market disruption during All-In Podcast Episode 161. (Source: Document a7a96b3e-b0a7-41e7-a179-b42068a2117b)

  2024-01-12

• The open-source software market size is estimated at $41.83 billion USD for the year. (Source: Web Search (IBM))

  2024-12-31

• The open-source software market is projected to reach $48.92 billion USD. (Source: Web Search (IBM))

  2025-12-31

Open-source software

Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose. Open-source software may be developed in a collaborative, public manner. Open-source software is a prominent example of open collaboration, meaning any capable user is able to participate online in development, making the number of possible contributors indefinite. The ability to examine the code facilitates public trust in the software. Open-source software development can bring in diverse perspectives beyond those of a single company. A 2024 estimate of the value of open-source software to firms is $8.8 trillion, as firms would need to spend 3.5 times the amount they currently do without the use of open source software. Open-source code can be used for studying and allows capable end users to adapt software to their personal needs in a similar way user scripts and custom style sheets allow for web sites, and eventually publish the modification as a fork for users with similar preferences, and directly submit possible improvements as pull requests.

Web Search Results

• What Is Open Source Software?

  The reasons for choosing open source software can vary significantly from person to person and organization to organization. In many cases, end users are completely unaware of the open source programs on their computers or mobile devices. It is also common for end users to download a free application such as the Mozilla Firefox browser or an Android app. These users want the software’s functionality without the intention of rewriting or even looking at the source code. [...] The open source software market will grow from USD 41.83 billion in 2024 to USD 48.92 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.9%.3 This rapid growth makes open source security, the practice of managing the security risks associated with using open source software in development and production environments, increasingly critical. [...] Open source is not to be confused with open standards. Open source refers to software whose source code is freely available for anyone to use, modify and share. An example of this is the Linux operating system, which is developed collaboratively by a global community.

• What is open source?

  Open source software is different. Its authors make its source code available to others who would like to view that code, copy it, learn from it, alter it, or share it. LibreOffice and the GNU Image Manipulation Program are examples of open source software. As they do with proprietary software, users must accept the terms of a license when they use open source software—but the legal terms of open source licenses differ dramatically from those of proprietary licenses. [...] Open source licenses affect the way people can use, study, modify, and distribute software. In general, open source licenses grant computer users permission to use open source software for any purpose they wish. Some open source licenses—what some people call "copyleft" licenses—stipulate that anyone who releases a modified open source program must also release the source code for that program alongside it. Moreover, some open source licenses stipulate that anyone who alters and shares a [...] The term originated in the context of software development to designate a specific approach to creating computer programs. Today, however, "open source" designates a broader set of values—what we call "the open source way." Open source projects, products, or initiatives embrace and celebrate principles of open exchange, collaborative participation, rapid prototyping, transparency, meritocracy, and community-oriented development. ## What is open source software?

• The ultimate list of 15 best open-source software in 2024 - Rocket.Chat

  Benefits of open-source software include flexibility, security, and cost-effectiveness. All these benefits stem from the transparency of the code and the ability to modify it according to your own preferences. ### What are examples of open source software? Popular open-source tools include Python, LibreOffice, Linux, Firefox, WordPress, and Rocket.Chat. ### What are the best languages used for open source software? [...] Read on to get the ultimate list of best open-source software to use in your company and to learn why organizations increasingly adopt open-source software. ## What is open-source software? In simple terms, open-source software is software with publicly available code. This means that anyone can not only inspect the source code but also modify it and enhance it. As such, open-source software allows developers to take the code and further modify it for their use, or their company’s use. [...] There are numerous advantages to open-source software, and they have started to outweigh the advantages of proprietary software. According to Forrester, 57% of companies deploy open source solutions to reduce overall costs, 55% do it to improve development team efficiency, and 54% use open-source software to shift their IT infrastructure to the cloud.

• What is Open Source Software (OSS)?

  # What is Open Source Software (OSS)? Open source software (OSS) refers to software that features freely available source code, which users may view, modify, adopt, and share for both commercial and noncommercial purposes. ## Key principles of open source software development Guided by the key principles of transparency, collaboration, and decentralization, the open source software model creates code from the community—and community from the code. Collaboration [...] Yes. Many solutions come with enterprise features that may require payment. However, the source code itself is typically free and available for public use. ### Which open source software is best? The best open source software depends on your organization’s needs. For enterprise organizations, you’ll want to choose a platform with security and automation tools, such as GitHub Enterprise, to help your developers deliver quality code across the entire software lifecycle. [...] Open source software development is public, which means all of the work, including the codebase and communication among users, is available for the open source community to see. Transparency instills trust among contributors, paving the way for innovation and play. And since the codebase is public, users are able to quickly identify and fix security vulnerabilities as they arise. Decentralization

• Open-source software - Wikipedia

  A recent trend within software companies is open-sourcing, or transitioning their previous proprietary software into open-source software through releasing it under an open-source license. Examples of companies who have done this are Google, Microsoft and Apple. Additionally, open-sourcing can refer to programming open-source software or installing open-source software. Open-sourcing can be beneficial in multiple ways, such as attracting more external contributors who bring new perspectives and [...] Under OSI's definition, open source is a broad software license that makes source code available to the general public with relaxed or non-existent restrictions on the use and modification of the code. It is an explicit feature of open source that it puts very few restrictions on the use or distribution by any organization or user, in order to enable the rapid evolution of the software. [...] Under Perens' definition, open source is a broad software license that makes source code available to the general public with relaxed or non-existent restrictions on the use and modification of the code. It is an explicit "feature" of open source that it puts very few restrictions on the use or distribution by any organization or user, in order to enable the rapid evolution of the software.