openNews
05-04-2010, 04:56 PM
Software developers from leading global enterprises are looking to cloud
computing and mobility as platforms for innovation while facing increased
pressure to produce more with fewer resources. Meanwhile, developers are
increasing usage of open source software (OSS) to improve efficiencies
and accelerate development cycles, but barriers to greater usage of OSS
across the enterprise persist. Even among early adopters, few enterprises
are fully leveraging the potential time and cost savings of broader use
of OSS.
These are the results of a recent survey of development executives from
fourteen leading global enterprises conducted by Black Duck Software
, provider of products and services for accelerating software development
through the managed use of open source software. Enterprises participating
in the survey represent leaders in a range of industries, including semi-conductor,
financial services, business software,
mobile, healthcare, media and entertainment and data storage.
Cloud Computing, Virtualization and Mobile Spur Application Development
When asked about the top technology trends affecting application
development, survey participants reported innovations in cloud
computing/virtualization and mobile as the most disruptive technologies
currently influencing development projects across the enterprise.
Respondents also cited distributed development/collaboration, Agile
development methods and multi-company collaboration on OSS projects as
top trends impacting development projects.
Developers Doing More with Less
While cloud computing, mobile and distributed development trends are
ramping up the intensity and pace of application development, development
managers said that they are under pressure to increase the number of
products and releases per year with fewer resources and under tighter
budget restrictions. Respondents said that contributing back to OSS
projects is another top challenge: they want and need to contribute back,
but the lack of formal policies within the enterprise for managing OSS
contributions remains the top barrier to participation.
Collaboration and sharing source code globally across distributed teams
in addition to processes for enabling code standardization and re-use
across the enterprise also were cited as top application development
challenges.
OSS Project Contribution Barriers Impeding Broader Use
The fourteen global enterprises participating in the survey are early
adopters and leaders in leveraging OSS for improving the efficiency of
the software development process; nonetheless, virtually every enterprise
said that they are only partially harnessing the potential of OSS. When
asked why, respondents cited the lack of a more comprehensive policy and
strategy for OSS as the top barrier. Developers responding to this
question reiterated the challenges of contributing back to OSS projects
as another major barrier to greater use of OSS. As a result --
respondents reported -- developer changes are often not integrated into
the mainstream code base, reducing the development team's ability to rely
on the OSS projects they're using for the long term.
Although not among the top impediments to greater use of OSS, respondents
cited executive buy in/support, concerns about the cost and complexity of managing
OSS use, and the perceived risk of OSS as additional challenges.
"These survey results show that the top global enterprises understand the
value of using open source software in the application development
process, but barriers to broader adoption persist," said Jim Berets, vice
president of product management at Black Duck Software. "Most of these
barriers can be traced to the lack of an enterprise-wide open source
strategy and clear policies and procedures for managing its use. The good
news is these barriers appear to be falling rapidly as development
organizations realize the benefits of open source and take proactive
steps to adopt strategies, policies and solutions for managing its use
across the global enterprise."
Source: www.blackducksoftware.com
computing and mobility as platforms for innovation while facing increased
pressure to produce more with fewer resources. Meanwhile, developers are
increasing usage of open source software (OSS) to improve efficiencies
and accelerate development cycles, but barriers to greater usage of OSS
across the enterprise persist. Even among early adopters, few enterprises
are fully leveraging the potential time and cost savings of broader use
of OSS.
These are the results of a recent survey of development executives from
fourteen leading global enterprises conducted by Black Duck Software
, provider of products and services for accelerating software development
through the managed use of open source software. Enterprises participating
in the survey represent leaders in a range of industries, including semi-conductor,
financial services, business software,
mobile, healthcare, media and entertainment and data storage.
Cloud Computing, Virtualization and Mobile Spur Application Development
When asked about the top technology trends affecting application
development, survey participants reported innovations in cloud
computing/virtualization and mobile as the most disruptive technologies
currently influencing development projects across the enterprise.
Respondents also cited distributed development/collaboration, Agile
development methods and multi-company collaboration on OSS projects as
top trends impacting development projects.
Developers Doing More with Less
While cloud computing, mobile and distributed development trends are
ramping up the intensity and pace of application development, development
managers said that they are under pressure to increase the number of
products and releases per year with fewer resources and under tighter
budget restrictions. Respondents said that contributing back to OSS
projects is another top challenge: they want and need to contribute back,
but the lack of formal policies within the enterprise for managing OSS
contributions remains the top barrier to participation.
Collaboration and sharing source code globally across distributed teams
in addition to processes for enabling code standardization and re-use
across the enterprise also were cited as top application development
challenges.
OSS Project Contribution Barriers Impeding Broader Use
The fourteen global enterprises participating in the survey are early
adopters and leaders in leveraging OSS for improving the efficiency of
the software development process; nonetheless, virtually every enterprise
said that they are only partially harnessing the potential of OSS. When
asked why, respondents cited the lack of a more comprehensive policy and
strategy for OSS as the top barrier. Developers responding to this
question reiterated the challenges of contributing back to OSS projects
as another major barrier to greater use of OSS. As a result --
respondents reported -- developer changes are often not integrated into
the mainstream code base, reducing the development team's ability to rely
on the OSS projects they're using for the long term.
Although not among the top impediments to greater use of OSS, respondents
cited executive buy in/support, concerns about the cost and complexity of managing
OSS use, and the perceived risk of OSS as additional challenges.
"These survey results show that the top global enterprises understand the
value of using open source software in the application development
process, but barriers to broader adoption persist," said Jim Berets, vice
president of product management at Black Duck Software. "Most of these
barriers can be traced to the lack of an enterprise-wide open source
strategy and clear policies and procedures for managing its use. The good
news is these barriers appear to be falling rapidly as development
organizations realize the benefits of open source and take proactive
steps to adopt strategies, policies and solutions for managing its use
across the global enterprise."
Source: www.blackducksoftware.com