OStatic

Recently, Black Duck Software conducted a survey of developers to ascertain what they know about open source software, and how they've used it in their workplaces.

While it's important to keep in mind that the survey consisted of about 50 participants at companies that were vastly different in size (ranging from less than 20 to more than 10,000 employees), and that Black Duck is in the business of servicing managed and secure open source deployments, there are still valid bits of information to take away from the results.

Information Week highlights some of the more interesting statistics the Black Duck surveyors collected. Even if the percentages in this impromptu survey would vary with a larger survey pool, the data is so vastly different it's safe to say there's a disturbing trend: Companies often take a hands off approach to managing open source software.

InfoWorld's survey of IT professionals indicates that open-source usage will continue to grow in the coming years. Why, and what does this mean for open-source developers?

What does this mean for companies that depend on open source?ﾠ Open-source software is widely acknowledged as being powerful, inexpensive, and secure. Not only that, but we should expect to see more open source in the enterprise over the next few years.