Nothing can - or will - slow down the growth of open source software. According to IDC, open source alone generated $1.8b in revenue in 2006.  The projected growth, fueled by a fast adoption curve by enterprises and government agencies, should bring this number to $5.8b in 2011, which translates into an annual growth of 26%.  I know some proprietary vendors who would be thrilled with this kind of market growth rate…

We all know that open source software is already widely used in IT infrastructure: security (firewall, proxy, antivirus, antispam, etc.), operating systems (servers, desktops, workstations, appliances, etc.), application and Web servers, databases, Web browsers, etc.  However open source software is no longer restricted to the “lower” layers of the information system.  It is also deployed in the business application and middleware layers - such as Talend Open Studio.  I can for example mention SugarCRM or CentricCRM in the Customer Relationship Management space; OpenBravo or Compiere in the Enterprise Resource Planning space; JasperSoft or SpagoBI in the Business Intelligence space.  A number of these players are key partners for Talend, and some of them are co-founders, with Talend, of the Open Solutions Alliance - built to promote the interoperability of open solutions in the enterprise.

This growth of open source software in enterprises illustrates well the maturity of our offerings: a few years back, only a few early adopters would even consider open source solutions.  Today, organizations select solutions that bring them a key competitive advantage and are proven: the feedback of initial adopters highlights several advantages, which prove to be key for the final choice.

Among these advantages, I will mention: an unrestricted access to source code which facilitates customization and provides independence from the vendor; the compliance with industry standards and interoperability; the quality of the code which is guaranteed by code reviews and tests by the community; the reactivity in interactions between users and developers; the high level of associated services (knowledge transfer, consulting, etc.); the cost savings; etc.

The future looks even more promising.  The solidity of open source software grows as the users’ community increases - clearly today’s trend.

I am quite proud for Talend be part of this great evolution, along with our partners and users.

Bertrand