Open source funding falls

13:05 20th October 2008

Investment in open source vendors is decreasing, new research from 451 Group has disclosed.

The analyst firm revealed that funding for open source technologies fell by 12.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2008 to £43.5 million, which is down from £50 million in the same quarter of 2007.

This drop in funding was not entirely unexpected, particularly considering the current economic downturn, which has led to cash stockpiling efforts in the financial service industry.

Matthew Aslett, analyst at 451 Group, also wrote in the report that figures for open source funding are "prone to larger swings than the overall market".

He said: "The decline is not exactly unexpected. The overall market was down nearly six per cent … while there was bound to be some hangover for open source following the most successful quarter ever in quarter one and solid growth in quarter two."

Last week, a survey by the consultancy group Ernst & Young suggested that the global financial crisis is unlikely to affect investment in information security.