UK enterprises still edgy on open source

The UK's adoption of open source lags behind the rest of Europe

Many UK enterprises are still unsure about adopting open source software, according to a recent study.

Research firm Survey Interactive said that some 42 per cent of UK software firms were using open source software, and that an additional 22 per cent were interested in adopting open source tools, but had not yet made a decision.

The adoption rate was roughly unchanged from last year, and is close to that in the US, where 41 per cent of businesses were using open source software.

The UK's uptake of open source tools was still significantly behind that of its neighbours. The study estimated that 67 per cent of French firms and 60 per cent of German companies had adopted open source tools.

Of the countries surveyed, China was the biggest proponent of open source software. Some 80 per cent of companies surveyed in China were using open source tools.

Researchers suggested that the low adoption rate was due to continued scepticism at British enterprises about the risks and benefits of switching to open source.

"The proportion of UK respondents who feel that the benefits of open source software outweigh the inhibitors has decreased this year," read the report.

"Significantly, the UK continues to demonstrate a degree of reticence towards open source adoption, with almost a quarter still monitoring developments but not yet evaluating."