Open source dominates the world: starting from here Jan Wildeboer, EMEA evangelist at Red Hat, explains why this revolution will not stop and open innovation will also change the hardware field.
Linux and open standards have been a success story for more than 30 years, especially in the IT sector. The principles of free software are now widely used in various industries for to promote open innovation and collaborative development across corporate and national borders: open source rules the world. This is the true merit of more than 30 years of Linux, and the coming decades promise even greater impact.
A future to explore
However, its true potential has not yet been fully realized, especially in the political and social fields. Numerous policy initiatives support individual upstream projects on a smaller scale and often without considering the bigger picture. Academia also lacks support for large open source projects. Digital sovereignty is a hotly debated topic, and it’s definitely an area that requires an infusion of open source principles.
The battles fronts are often conducted around prestigious initiatives, but only open source – which guarantees independence, interoperability and avoids vendor lock-in – can form the basis of any kind of digital sovereignty. Furthermore, the open approach stands for agility, flexibility and scalability, thus fulfilling the fundamental requirements to react quickly to changing needs, especially in crisis situations, as the pandemic has clearly demonstrated.
How the use of proprietary solutions will change
How will the success of open source influence the future of proprietary solutions? They will certainly still have a place, especially for niche applications. However, niches are shrinking and even the most established proprietary solution providers are increasingly choosing the path of open software.
The role of the automotive industry
In the short to medium term, proprietary applications will continue to be used, for example for specific procedures in the public sector or for safety-critical functions in vehicles. Even in these sectors, the prospect is of a winning open source in the next 30 years. With platforms Linux which are also gaining importance in the automotive field, so that a central Linux operating system with safety-relevant certifications is no longer a utopia.
Open source rules the world, but it’s certainly not over
From a technological point of view, open source solutions are increasingly becoming a standard for most companies and public organizations. One challenge remains: a culture shift based on open source principles, such as transparency, adaptability or collaboration. Principles that not only concern technology, but above all processes and the way people work together. The values of open source include a culture open business: An open organization thrives on transparent decisions, an active focus on feedback, and close collaboration between different parties.
The young talents
Challenge that will become less problematic in the future as new generations enter the IT job market: young people are growing up between the open source approach and agile development and traditional waterfall methods are unlikely to play an important role for much longer.
The future will be even more interesting
One thing is clear after more than 30 years: the competition between open source and proprietary solutions is long over. Open source is the clear winner and its triumphal march will certainly not stop. Open innovation and open source methods they will prevail in an increasing number of sectors, even in the hardware field. Indeed, the very concepts of open hardware and open source processors promise an even more interesting future.