The need for secure and reliable software solutions is exploding right along with the increase in digital gadgets. As open-source software solutions get more and more sophisticated, the entire software industry is leaning on them as a critical building block. In this guide, I will share the latest open source software trends and predictions, and what the future holds for OSS.
Open Source Software Trends and Predictions
Tech companies are running away from the expensive locked-down software, and jumping on the open-source train in a big way. Mainly, this is because open source offers the flexibility and cost savings companies crave.
Organizations are now using open source for everything, from trading systems to data analysis, making it a key part of their internal operations. The future looks even brighter. You can expect open-source code to keep getting faster and more reliable. Here are some of the latest open-source software trends and predictions.
Emergence of Open Source Program Offices Within Organizations
Companies are diving headfirst into open-source software like never before, and this explosion brings a need for a new game plan – the OSS Program Office. Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) work like a central hub with a team of experts steering your entire organization’s OSS strategy.
They’ll be the go-to crew for everything OSS, from keeping track of software bill of materials (SBOMs) to making sure licenses are clean and security patches are in place. OSPOs connect the company with the wider open-source community. The team helps developers, tech staff, legal teams, and everyone in between pick the perfect open-source tools and use them smoothly.
OSPOs also train your crew and create a culture of openness and responsibility when building internal tools. Going by the statistics, GitHub’s 2022 report says 30% of Fortune 100 companies already have OSPOs, and it’s not stopping there. Linux Foundation research shows even industries like education and government are jumping on board.
Increase in Corporate Assistance
Tech companies, big and small, are finally waking up to the power of open-source communities. They’re realizing these communities are the backbone of the whole tech. They can innovate quickly by building on existing OSS projects instead of starting from scratch. Plus, they save money on licensing fees.
As a result, they’re throwing their weight behind open-source software in a big way, and it’s changing the game, with initiatives and sponsorships popping up everywhere. Take GitHub’s Accelerator program, for example. Launched in April 2023, this 10-week program showered selected open-source projects with funding and expert advice.
The same happens with the Rust Foundation’s recent move. They’re showering grants on maintainers who keep the wheels turning in Rust’s bustling open-source community. So, we can predict that companies will continue to collaborate and offer support to open-source projects instead of developing competing solutions.
Improvement in Security
Free access to the code behind the software is key to keeping it sustainable, secure, and, well, free. But what happens when an open-source provider changes course and shuts down access? That’s a major headache for companies and developers who rely on it.
Imagine losing official support, updates, and security patches – suddenly your systems become sitting ducks. This is exactly what’s happening with CentOS 7, a popular Linux system. It’s reaching its end of life in June 2024, leaving millions of servers worldwide scrambling.
IT decision-makers are facing a tough choice: how to keep their Linux systems secure, compatible, and manageable, all without getting locked into a single vendor. A recent report by Synopsys scanned over 1,700 codebases and found some eye-opening info about security and outdated code.
A whopping 87% of those codebases didn’t have proper security and risk assessments in place. But that’s not all. The report also revealed that 89% of the codebases were using open-source code that was way past its prime – over four years old. And get this – 91% had components that hadn’t seen any new development in at least two years.
This news is good for open-source software security, as companies are now waking up to the importance of reliable, open-source options. Companies are now figuring out how to properly compensate maintainers so they can keep these projects thriving for years to come. It’s a win-win – maintainers get rewarded for their dedication, and open-source security improves.
Adoption of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
A recent GitHub survey found a whopping 92% of developers are using AI-powered coding assistants. These brainy tools aren’t just for writing code. They’re helping with any task that involves learning, solving problems, and making decisions.
Open-source projects are also jumping on the AI train, and are becoming major players. We’ve seen giants like Google using AI for image and speech recognition, and Facebook even released PyTorch, an open-source machine learning library, to fuel the fire.
Open-source AI tools are making AI development more accessible. Even smaller companies and individual developers will be able to play in the AI field, not just the big tech giants. So, it’s a two-way street. Open source fuels AI development, and AI tools are making OSS development more efficient. This virtuous cycle will push the adoption of machine learning and artificial intelligence higher.
Increase in Open-Source Software Regulation
Governments are teaming up with the OSS community to tighten security. The Securing Open Source Software Act in the US is just a sign of things to come. We can expect more laws and regulations to come down the pipeline, especially in the US, UK, and Europe.
With increased pressure to stay secure, companies will be using SBOMs more and more to keep track of everything in the software stack, identify weaknesses, and patch them up fast. Since governments often require SBOMs for compliance, especially in sensitive industries, expect a surge in security initiatives and SBOM generation across the board.
Final Thoughts
Open source isn’t just for programmers anymore. Businesses of all sizes are realizing their potential for AI, machine learning, and data analysis. New online spaces are popping up to make collaborating on open-source projects easier than ever. As open source takes over the software industry, there will be a surge in open education resources to help developers level up their open-source skills.
