• The State of Open Source Software in 2025 Irving Wladawsky-Berger | 27 November 2025 This blog was first published on Nov 26, 2025 at https://blog.irvingwb.com/blog/2025/11/the-state-of-open-source-software-in-2025.html and repurposed here with consent from the author. • A few weeks ago, Linux Foundation Research published “The State of Global Open Source 2025,” the third annual report based on its survey of the open source community. • The report highlights the evolution of open source software (OSS) from a productivity tool to a key component of global mission-critical infrastructures. • The 2025 global survey on which it’s based confirms that organizations depend on OSS as the backbone of their critical systems. • Given my long involvement with open source technologies and the Linux Foundation, I was invited to write the Foreword of the 2024 Open Source report, where I tried to explain why open source has been so successful over the past several decades: “For centuries, experts have worked together to jointly address some of the most complex and important problems of their times, from exploring the secrets of the universe to developing new healthcare treatments. • Open source is part of this long tradition of collaborative innovation.” I then cited two concrete, successful examples of collaborative innovation from my personal experiences in the IT industry.

Article Summaries:

  • The Linux Foundation’s 2025 “State of Global Open Source” report confirms that open‑source software (OSS) has moved from a productivity tool to the backbone of mission‑critical infrastructure worldwide. A survey of 851 qualified respondents-primarily IT professionals and executives-showed high OSS penetration across software development, operations, finance, manufacturing, education, and government. However, the report warns that most organizations lack robust governance, security practices, and formal engagement with OSS communities, creating significant risk exposure. The findings highlight a growing reliance on OSS coupled with a pressing need for stronger governance and security frameworks to manage this dependency safely.

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