LINUX FOUNDATION RESEARCH

We’re investigating the impact of open source collaboration to solve the world’s most pressing challenges.

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About LF Research

LF Research publishes actionable and decision-useful insights into open source software, hardware, standards, and data based on empirical research methodologies. Through leveraging community networks, project databases, surveys, and qualitative findings, and through its commitment to best practices in primary research, Linux Foundation Research is the definitive home for data-driven insights into open source for the benefit of governments, enterprises, and society at large.

Open Source Software Developer Report

Intel partnered with LF Research once again this year, this time to study what developers need to advance their careers. Our new report reveals that learning new skills and connecting with other developers, especially at in-person events, is a top priority.

 

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Participate in Our Research

Join the LF Research Forum and participate in our surveys and interviews to give back to your community and earn events & training discounts!

Interested in conducting research?

Review our prospectus for more information, and email us at research@linuxfoundation.org

 

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Explore Linux Foundation Research and Publications

Discover the Linux Foundation’s most recent collection of short- and long-form research and publications on open source topics of interest.

Census III of Free and Open Source Software

In this report, LF Research partnered with OpenSSF and the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard to study the most common packages used at the application library level.

Decentralization and AI

Today’s digital platforms are centralized platforms that a small handful of big tech companies control. As regulators start to curtail the power of these tech companies, open source innovators are building decentralized infrastructures that preserve individual privacy, autonomy, and digital property rights and increase access to the global commons.

2024 Open Source Software Funding Report

Despite having a clear understanding of why organizations contribute to open source software (OSS), the community lacks evidence on how organizations contribute. GitHub and researchers from Harvard University partnered with the Linux Foundation to field a survey measuring open source contributions at an organizational level.

Shaping the Future of Generative AI

LF AI & Data and CNCF partnered with LF Research to answer the question: what is the role of open source in the evolution and implementation of generative AI (GenAI) technologies? This report shows how open source tools are accelerating GenAI adoption while setting a foundation for the future of AI.

The 2024 State of OSPOs and Open Source Management

Now in its 7th year, the TODO Group's 2024 Open Source Program Office (OSPO) study explores the evolving role of OSPOs, comparing enterprises of different sizes. This report highlights OSPO benefits, challenges, and projected growth, in comparison with data from previous years to understand how these findings are trending.

Kubernetes Turns 10

In 2024, Kubernetes turned 10 years old! To commemorate this milestone, the Cloud Native Computing Foundation commissioned LF Research to survey its community on the impact of the technology.

An Open Architecture for Health Data Interoperability

This qualitative report reviews the unique characteristics of the healthcare sector, the lack of interoperability between its data systems, and how generative AI represents a catalyzing opportunity to address these issues.

Implementing AI Bill of Materials (AI BOM) with SPDX 3.0

A Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) is becoming an increasingly important tool in regulatory and technical spaces to introduce more transparency and security into a project's software supply chain.

Open Source Software Developer Report

Intel sponsored LF Research to survey the open source developer community, asking the strategic question: What do you need to advance your career? Read the full report to learn more about developers’ career priorities and expectations of their employers!

OpenSearch Awareness and Perceptions Report

Amazon Web Services (AWS) commissioned LF Research to field a survey in the Linux Foundation community to assess the awareness and perception of OpenSearch, the open source fork of Elasticsearch and Kibana.

2024 Japan Spotlight Insights Report

LF Research fielded its 2024 World of Open Source survey earlier this year and segmented the findings to capture trends specific to the Japanese market. The analysis reveals how Japanese companies are using open source software to drive innovation and strengthen their key sectors, including automotive, healthcare, and manufacturing.

2024 Cloud Native Security Report

The growing ubiquity in cloud native technologies also means the growing criticality of cloud security. CNCF commissioned LF Research to run a survey in their community, asking developers and IT leaders to evaluate how their organizations are addressing cloud native security.

The 2024 State of Open Source in Financial Services

For the past four years, FINOS and LF Research have partnered to capture yearly trends in open source consumption and contribution, emerging technologies, and opportunities and recommendations for the financial services sector.

Open Source Maturity in Europe

For the past three years, LF Research has conducted a study on the adoption, opportunities, and perceptions of open source across Europe. The trend is clear in 2024: the perceived value of open source continues to increase in the region, and stakeholders across sectors and industries can see the importance of investing in it.

Strengthening License Compliance and Software Security with SBOM Adoption

Software security remains a top priority for every enterprise, industry, and government around the world. A fundamental step in securing a software supply chain is the ability to certify that the different software components being used are secure, but this can be challenging to adequately address.

Open Source and Energy Interoperability

In a study prepared for Natural Resources Canada, LF Research investigated this research question in the context of the Canadian energy grid.

The Case for Confidential Computing

As the collection, storage, and analysis of data becomes increasingly important across industries, businesses are looking for solutions that keep data secure and processes compliant with regulations.

Secure Software Development Education 2024 Survey

The OpenSSF commissioned a study to hear directly from the software security community on the perceived gaps in their training, and how we can better support the securing of the software supply chain from an educational perspective.

2024 State of Tech Talent Japan Report

The survey findings from this study were subsequently segmented by Japanese respondents and analyzed in a secondary report to capture a focused perspective on talent management amid the unique challenges faced by Japan's IT industry.

2024 State of Tech Talent Report

LF Research and LF Training & Certification partnered again this year to study trends in the technical talent market, surveying individuals responsible for hiring and training IT professionals.

Cloud Native 2023: The Undisputed Infrastructure of Global Technology

Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)'s Annual Survey represents an important marker in time to understand trends in the cloud native community. CNCF partnered with LF Research once again to develop its 2023 study, measuring adoption, understanding motivations for use and contribution, and forecasting new opportunities.

Maintainer Perspectives on Open Source Software Security

As we look to build out tooling and practices that increase software security, how do we make sure that these tools empower maintainers, and not add additional burden? This research tackles this question, surveying the practices, challenges, and expectations of maintainers across the open source community.

The State of eBPF

Learn how to make the most of eBPF's offerings and how you can get involved with the project to support its growth and continuous improvement.

2023 Open Source Generative AI Survey Report

With the explosion in generative AI, the Linux Foundation wanted to understand how the technology is being adopted at an organization level and the benefits and challenges of an open source solution in comparison to closed source.

Hyperledger Foundation 2023 Brand Study

The aim of this project was to measure perceptions of the enterprise-grade blockchain technology market, with a specific focus on Hyperledger technologies’ place in this market.

Standing Together on Shared Challenges: Report on the 2023 Open Source Congress

Read the full report to learn about open source leaders' reflections on priority areas, opportunities, and next steps for the community!

World of Open Source: Japan Spotlight 2023

This report gleans its insight from the 2023 World of Open Source survey data we collected from Japanese respondents, analyzing the region’s specific trends in open source adoption, use, and contributions.

The 2023 State of Open Source in Financial Services

In its third year, the annual FINOS research report analyzes quantitative and qualitative data to understand industry-wide trends in open source adoption, from banking, to asset management, to hedge funds.

World of Open Source: Global Spotlight 2023

This report covers a wide range of opportunities and concerns related to open source around the world, with insights collected from the global survey launched earlier this year. This report incorporates a regional comparison of open source adoption, contribution, value propositions, and sustainability.

A New Direction for the Mobile Industry

This research report, sponsored by Futurewei and in partnership with numerous open source projects, features interviews from subject matter experts to understand the current state of the mobile industry, the challenges this industry faces, and how these challenges could be addressed by open sourcing the mobile technology stack.

World of Open Source: Europe Spotlight 2023

This report covers a range of open source trends, opportunities, and concerns in Europe and provides data-backed conclusions to help the ecosystem unlock even greater value from open source.

The European Public Sector Open Source Opportunity

While the EU increasingly recognizes the value of open source, the public sector is still behind in embracing open source software, with little contribution to the ecosystem and policymaking that inhibits its potential. This report examines the present-day trends, challenges, and opportunities for OSS adoption in this sector.

The 2023 State of OSPOs and OSS Initiatives

Earlier this year, the TODO Group partnered with Linux Foundation Research to run its sixth annual state of the OSPO survey. Survey data was collected from participants in a wide variety of job roles, companies, industries, and geographies, with the goal of capturing a global view of OSPOs.

Open Source for Sustainability

Linux Foundation Research set out to understand how the open source community has advanced the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), conducting a comprehensive study of the LF’s diverse portfolio of projects.

Open Source License Compliance

From comprehensive software composition analysis tools to promoting the right development culture, read more about how to effectively address these challenges in the full report!

Open Source Maintainers

The software that powers so much of our technology infrastructure would not be possible without the individuals who maintain them. To understand more about this group of individuals and to capture their experiences, observations, and success stories, the Linux Foundation interviewed some of the community’s most influential maintainers.

The 2023 State of Open Standards

This report synthesizes findings from a survey that asked LF and survey partner communities about their involvement in standards, the value of and growth in standards, and what challenges they have experienced in this practice.

2023 Energy Transformation Readiness Study

The Linux Foundation Energy set out on a mission to transform the energy sector through open source investment and collaboration. This survey-based research furthers this cause by exploring the adoption of open source technology stacks vital to achieving climate targets.

The Open Source Opportunity for Microgrids

Microgrids are small and independent energy generation and storage systems that connect to traditional utility grids. Linux Foundation Research partnered with Futurewei, LF Energy, and Intentional Futures to research the state of open source in the microgrids market.

2023 State of Tech Talent Report

Linux Foundation Research partnered with LF Training and Certification for its annual talent report, this time from the perspective of hiring managers. An insightful tool for organizations, developers, and hiring managers, this report sheds light on the priorities, challenges, and changes that this year brings to the tech workforce.

Recommended Practices for Hosting and Managing Open Source Projects on GitHub

This report is a reflection on the power of GitHub to manage open source projects. It is based on a compilation of best practices to help developers enhance project engagement, understandability, and organization.

The Business Value of the OSPO

Why are Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) valuable from a business perspective? This qualitative study takes the reader through different value propositions that OSPO champions can use to connect OSPOs to business objectives, as well as the challenges to expect on an OSPO's journey.

Measuring the Economic Value of Open Source

Professor Henry Chesbrough, a pioneer on the subject of open innovation, conducted a survey to measure the economic value of open source, analyzing where and to what extent companies experience benefits of open source adoption. This report explores the perceived economic benefits of open source software.

Open Source Innovation as a Potential Lever for Economic Recovery

As the third installment in our World of Open Source series, this report takes a global view of open source, investigating its role in economic recovery across sectors and geographies.

Why the World Needs an Open Source Digital Wallet Right Now

The Open Wallet Foundation (OWF) was formed to support the development of wallets that are portable, secure, and that anyone can use. This whitepaper traces the origins of digital wallets, the opportunities and obstacles in this area of development, and where the OWF comes in.

Web3 and Sustainability

The promise of digital asset ownership and transfer through Web3 technologies has been countered with concern for its significant energy consumption. To manage this sustainability issue while still encouraging innovation requires collective action on technology, tracking, and policy. This report summarizes three areas of action.

A Road Map to Improve the Effectiveness and Impact of Enterprise Open Source Development

As open source continues to grow at the enterprise level, there is increasing recognition of the challenges inherent to enterprise open source consumption and contribution. This report covers several practices that enterprises can adopt to effectively participate in open source.

Enabling Global Collaboration: How Open Source Leaders Are Confronting the Challenges of Fragmentation

Today’s open source community is made up of millions of projects and contributors that are as diverse as they are numerous. This report takes an in-depth look at the benefits and costs of this fragmentation from the perspective of open source leaders around the world.

Mentorship in Open Source

Mentorship in Open Source examines the intrinsic, economic, and career value of mentorship programs to increase diversity in open source projects, with insights applicable to the whole technology industry.

The 2022 State of Open Source in Financial Services

This report identifies the extent to which the financial services industry is increasingly active in open source. Further, the report highlights the obstacles and challenges to overcome in order to improve industry-wide collaboration and concludes with a set of actionable insights for improving the state of open source in financial services.

Data and Storage Trends 2022

In July 2022, the SODA Foundation, in partnership with Linux Foundation Research, launched a worldwide survey to understand evolving data and storage trends. This report uses survey data to guide end users and vendors on important issues, and helps them be better equipped to make decisions.

Releasing Internal Code into a New Open Source Project: A Guide for Stakeholders

For companies that plan to open source proprietary code as a standalone open source project, this report is a vital resource, offering an overview of the process and identifying the critical elements that ensure the necessary tasks are properly captured and executed.

CTO Summit Report EU 2022: Resiliency in Multi-Cloud

Multi-Cloud resiliency means avoiding or mitigating an adverse event's impact and being ready for unexpected outcomes. In May 2022, the Linux Foundation and the CNCF hosted the first-ever Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Summit about Multi-Cloud resiliency, and how to achieve it. This report captures the significant findings of the Summit ...

World of Open Source: Europe Spotlight 2022

World of Open Source: Europe Spotlight 2022 explores the “state of open source” across Europe and builds a comprehensive picture by examining the current activity levels through consumption and contribution, inhibitors, motivators, and opportunities.

A Deep Dive into Open Source Program Offices: Structure, Roles, Responsibilities, and Challenges

Open source projects and initiatives provide enterprises with proven, successful models to collaborate with other organizations, create new technologies, and support the development of new communities. Organizations across many industries are establishing Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) and staffing them with highly skilled individuals to ...

The 10th Annual Open Source Jobs Report

According to 93% of the hiring managers surveyed, open source talent is increasingly difficult to find. As a result, companies are now turning towards training their staff in new cloud automation, orchestration, and developer productivity tools to close that gap as much as possible. This year the Linux Foundation once again teamed up with edX to ...

Addressing Cybersecurity Challenges in Open Source Software

To help improve the state of software supply chain security, new research was conducted in partnership with the Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF), Snyk, the Eclipse Foundation, CNCF, and CI/CD Foundation as a means to help focus efforts in programming, incentives, and other resourcing to support the creation of more secure software. This ...

A Guide to Enterprise Open Source

Open source software (OSS) has transformed our world and become the backbone of our digital economy and the foundation of our digital world. Organizations are creating open source program offices (OSPOs) to manage their open source activities, from adopting OSS and compliance with applicable licenses to participating in open standards and ...

The Carbon Footprint of NFTs: Not All Blockchains Are Created Equal

Produced in partnership with Palm NFT Studio and the Hyperledger Foundation, this report lays out key climate-related barriers to NFTs and suggests some concrete strategies for embracing and building on the exciting innovations that NFTs enable. Adopting these strategies may unlock new opportunities for global collaborations and partnerships for ...

Artificial Intelligence and Data in Open Source

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no different from any other technology domain where OSS dominates. As with other industries, OSS adoption in the AI field has increased the use of open source in products and services, contributions to existing projects, the creation of projects fostering collaboration, and the development of new technologies. ...

Paving the Way to Battle Climate Change: How Two Utilities Embraced Open Source to Speed Modernization of the Electric Grid

Paving the Way to Battle Climate Change is a case study of how two large European distribution and transmission systems operators, the Netherlands’ Alliander and France’s RTE, adopted and contributed to three significant LF Energy projects, SEAPATH, CoMPAS, and OpenSTEF so that their electrical substations can become more modular, interoperable, ...

Open Source in Entertainment: How the Academy Software Foundation Creates Shared Value

Open Source in Entertainment: How the Academy Software Foundation Creates Value tells the story of the ASWF; how it came to be, where it came from, what it has achieved so far, and where it aims to go next. It is a story about engineers and leaders who collectively generate value by developing critical open source software that powers much of the ...

Census II of Free and Open Source Software — Application Libraries

Produced in partnership with Harvard Laboratory for Innovation Science (LISH) and the Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF), Census II is the second investigation into the widespread use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). The Census II effort utilizes data from partner Software Composition Analysis (SCA) companies including Snyk, the ...

The Evolution of the Open Source Program Office (OSPO)

Produced in partnership with the TODO Group, this report provides rich insight, direction, and tools to help implement an OSPO (Open Source Program Office) or an open source initiative within corporate, academic, or public sector environments. Readers will come away with an understanding of OSPO Stages and Archetypes (or personas), which drive ...

The State of Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) and Cybersecurity Readiness

The State of Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) and Cybersecurity Readiness, produced in partnership with SPDX, OpenChain, and OpenSSF, reports on the extent of organizational SBOM readiness and adoption and its significance to improving cybersecurity throughout the open source ecosystem. The study comes on the heels of the US Administration’s ...

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Open Source

The Linux Foundation Report on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Open Source in collaboration with 14 industry partners seeks to understand the demographics and dynamics concerning overall participation in open source communities and identify gaps to be addressed, all as a means to advancing inclusive cultures within open source environments. ...

Data and Storage Trends Report

This report reveals the top data and storage challenges faced by users, storage use trends, vendor product strategies, cloud storage use cases, and the important priorities for enterprises in the next three years and beyond. It was produced in partnership with the SODA Foundation, Cloud Native Computing Foundation, Storage Networking Industry ...

The State of Open Source in Financial Services Report

The first annual report, produced in partnership with FINOS, Scott Logic, Wipro, and GitHub, explores the state of open source in the financial services sector. The report identifies current levels of consumption and contribution of open source software and standards in this industry and the governance, cultural, and aspirational issues pertaining ...

9th Annual Open Source Jobs Report

Produced in partnership with edX, this report provides actionable insights on the state of open source talent that employers can use to inform their hiring, training, and diversity awareness efforts. It also provides IT professionals with clear insight on which skills are most marketable and how training and certification efforts benefit job ...

Hyperledger Brand Study

Over the summer of 2021, Linux Foundation Research undertook an independent survey to explore the state of the enterprise blockchain market and the Hyperledger brand. The research team collected quantitative and qualitative data from a broad community with knowledge of enterprise blockchain covering a range of topics, including familiarity with ...

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