Gartner: Open Source Penetrating SaaS Segment
Open Source software is likely to dominate the Software as a Service (SaaS) segment for reasons of economy and community building says market researcher Gartner: Open Source is cheap, and communities keep it popular.
The Gartner analysts predict that communities will grow around SaaS offerings in the next three years. Community driven software development and the exchange and penetration that they guarantee will be important factors. Community-typical processes such as the evaluation of the usefulness of an offering by the users will also be critical. User and developer communities will tend to grow where the SaaS provider takes care to provide good APIs and communications options, say the Connecticut-based technology monitors. The success of the software will depend on the success of the community.
By 2010, all SaaS providers will run their infrastructure at least partly on Open Source components, says Gartner. Infrastructure is to be understood as the operating system, application server and database. This avoids the need for providers to invest heavily in software, although customers should not expect these savings to be passed on to them, the analysts add.
IT associations should also monitor SaaS offerings that include Open Source. They should warn the providers about issues arising from possible licensing infringements and thus actions by the projects and their legal advisors. The Free Software Foundation also anticipates future issues with free licenses and SaaS and organized asummit on Open Source in the SaaS era mid-March.
Gartner offers a commercial, three-page report on Thema SaaS and Open Source via its website.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.
-
So Long, ArcoLinux
The ArcoLinux distribution is the latest Linux distribution to shut down.
-
What Open Source Pros Look for in a Job Role
Learn what professionals in technical and non-technical roles say is most important when seeking a new position.
-
Asahi Linux Runs into Issues with M4 Support
Due to Apple Silicon changes, the Asahi Linux project is at odds with adding support for the M4 chips.
-
Plasma 6.3.4 Now Available
Although not a major release, Plasma 6.3.4 does fix some bugs and offer a subtle change for the Plasma sidebar.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 First Release Candidate Now Available
Linux Torvalds has announced that the release candidate for the final release of the Linux 6.15 series is now available.
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.