HELSINKI, Finland — May 27, 2021 – Research released today by Aiven, a software company that combines the best open source technologies with cloud infrastructure, revealed that over 90 per cent of enterprise cloud developers believe open source will be a part of the future of their organisations, as businesses look to grow once more post-pandemic.

Enterprise adoption of open source software has grown rapidly in recent years as businesses have sought cost-effective and innovative solutions to drive growth. The pandemic has only accelerated this trend, with organisations looking at how they can improve business processes and maintain growth despite the economic downturn.

Aiven’s survey investigated the opinions of cloud and database developers working for large enterprises and discovered that the popularity of open source has been driven by its wide variety of benefits. In fact, developers listed twice as many benefits associated with open source technology as they did disadvantages, highlighting the growing positivity towards open source across businesses in general.

The most popular advantage of open source listed by the developers was the transparency of the code, which makes it easier to find and fix bugs quickly. 69 per cent of respondents identified this as a key benefit, with other benefits cited including reduced vendor lock-in (52.5%) and the ability to build your own features (52.5%).

However, developers were also frank with the challenges also associated with open source, with 52 per cent stating maintenance as an obstacle to using open source technology. This was the most cited challenge among respondents, compared to other hindrances to open source adoption, such as difficulties configuring or installing the software (48%), a lack of support (45%), and hidden costs (27%).

As a result, businesses are looking for solutions to make open source easier to implement. 35 per cent of respondents said they would opt for a managed open source solution in future, enabling them to avoid these maintenance issues and spend more time focussing on more business critical tasks.

Heikki Nousiainen, CTO & Co-founder at Aiven, said: “Using open source software is a fantastic way for enterprises to take advantage of the latest innovation in software. More importantly, it provides businesses with the flexibility for growth, without having to worry about vendor lock-in and other challenges that come with using proprietary software. However, open source software does not come without its own challenges and it is crucial that businesses looking to adopt open source have the necessary support to overcome any hurdles associated with installation and maintenance, whether that be built in-house or provided by a third-party.”

Research conducted by Resonance on behalf of Aiven in January/February 2021. The study surveyed 200 UK developers who work in large enterprises and who specialise in cloud and database technology.

About Aiven

Headquartered in Helsinki with offices in Berlin, Sydney, Toronto and Boston, Aiven provides managed open source data technologies, like PostgreSQL, Kafka, and M3, on all major clouds. Through Aiven, developers can do what they do best: create applications. Meanwhile, we do what we do best; manage cloud data infrastructure. We enable our customers to drive business results from open source that trigger true transformations far beyond their own backyards. Visit us at aiven.io and follow @aiven_io on Twitter.