World of Open Source Europe: Spotlight
On October 7th during the Open Source Summit in Prague, the Linux Foundation released the results of the fifth annual State of Open Source in Europe survey. For this year's edition, which the NeoNephos Foundation co-sponsored, the report grants the topic of digital sovereignty special attention.
Why digital Sovereignty matters
The numbers could not be more stark: 94% of European respondents (n=264) rate digital sovereignty at least somewhat important to their organization, 61.5% even very important (Q18). According to the survey, the main drivers behind this sentiment are Security and privacy (71%), Vendor lock-in and cost risk (55%) and National or regional interests (47%) (Q19). An important takeaway is that this sentiment is shared across the world, as the data highlights similar results for respondents outside Europe. Anecdotically, we can attest to that as our visits to KubeCon + CloudNativeCon India and KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Japan showed great interest in our foundation from local companies and attendants.
Open source can help advance digital sovereignty efforts which extends far beyond code. The survey suggests that exploitation depth is linked to the maturity level of the internal open source processes: Respondents (n=87) whose organizations reportedly have advanced open source governance processes report a higher return of benefits (4.6x) as opposed to respondents whose organizations have no formal governance at all (3.6x).
The case of foundation led open source
In light of an uncertain environment, trust is an important component in evaluating open source components: 38% of all respondents who have answered Which open source governance model makes your organization most likely to adopt a project? (n=197) put neutral foundation-hosted projects at the top of the list - topping all other answers. This underscores the relevance of the NeoNephos Foundation as governing framework for enterprise ready open source components: Trust is earned through neutral governance, community input and a proven path for project longevity and maintenance. By participating in NNF in any shape - membership, contributions and more - an organization maximizes exploitation potential not just in relation to a singular project but gains access to an entire ecosystem.
For more insights, read the entire survey here. We are thankful for all contributors and hope to see you aboard next year as well!