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November 2008

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Yahoo: 85 percent of companies using open source applications

David Meyer of ZDNet UK reported on Yahoo News than 85 percent of companies are using open source software. The report was published November 17.

Further findings include:

- Most of the remaining 15 percent of business are expected to begin using open source software within the next year, according to analysts at Gartner.

- 31 percent of surveyed companies had formal policies for evaluating and procuring open-source software (OSS).

- Respondents pointed to cost as a big reason for their using of open source, with some suggesting OSS provided protection against single-vendor lock-in.

- Other reasons included fast time to market and the avoidance of complex procurement rules and procedures

- A lack of formal policies could open companies up to intellectual-property violations.

"Just because something is free doesn't mean that it has no cost," said Gartner research director

Laurie Wurster in a statement. "Companies must have a policy for procuring OSS, deciding which applications will be supported by OSS, and identifying the intellectual property risk or supportability risk associated with using OSS. Once a policy is in place, then there must be a governance process to enforce it."

Wurster added that the variety of license types and forms for open-source software could make understating when and where OSS might fit in a "frustrating process."

"As time goes by, many of these concerns will be addressed, but this continues to be a slow process," Wurster said. "Increases in OSS popularity and in the rate of OSS adoption will drive the required changes."

David Meyer of ZDNet UK reported from London.

Orginal article:

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/cnet/20081117/tc_cnet/8301100131009862492