The CENATIC Foundation, in keeping with its objective of raising awareness about open source technologies, regularly releases research reports that study the different aspects of open source software.

The ultimate aim of these reports is to boost the competitiveness of the Spanish business sector by providing information about the business opportunities offered by these technologies and identifying international projects that can be implemented and applied to Spanish society.The report we present here analyses the International Status of Open Source Software, enabling us to put the current situation in Spain in context based on the knowledge of technology trends around the world, the promotion and use of open technologies in the Spanish Private and Public sectors, and the contribution of Spanish Communities of Developers and Universities to important initiatives on an international scale.

It is, in conclusion, a thorough overview of the international context of open source software, creating a starting point for the identification of new business opportunities for Spanish companies, and new fields of study for CENATIC to continue promoting the use and development of open source software in Spain.

As I expected the outlook on Africa is quite bleak. “Africa trails the world in the development of Open Source Software and the Information Society, lacking even the minimal means necessary for developing OSS. To this we can add the inexistence of public promotion policies and the high rate of illegitimate software use. Therefore, it is not surprising that only South Africa reaches a value that is anywhere near the worldwide average for the OSS index. Undoubtedly, its economic level, which is clearly superior to the rest of the countries on the continent, along with support from the government and non-governmental organisations, such as the Shuttleworth Foundation, explain South Africa’s world ranking in terms of OSS.”

For further information, please contact with: pop.ramsamy @cenatic.es

Download: Report on the International Status of Open Source Software 2010