The Open Learning Centre

According to a recent report from Gartner, 85% of businesses are already using Free and Open Source Software. And the other 15% will be doing so within the year.

Gartner's global survey of 274 organisations, carried out in May-June of this year, found FOSS is being used for mission critical processes as often as it is for less business-necessary functions.

The top three reasons firms are switching are:

• a lower total cost of ownership;
• avoidance of cost-prohibitive, and very complex, procurement procedures;
• the speed with which they can start and roll out new projects and initiatives.

Gartner added that many firms are switching to open source systems as a replacement for commercial, proprietary software.

It wasn’t just all about cash though. Freedom from "vendor lock-in" and ownership of the IT department was cited by some of the firms surveyed, while others said it helped them avoid complex procurement procedures.

Further information is here.