When you look at the recent launch of Google’s Android platform, and Apple’s decision to scrap the NDA previously placed on developers working with the iPhone, it’s clear to see that the open source model is going from strength to strength at the moment. There are many factors for this, but the impact of the current economic climate should certainly not be underestimated.

By opening up their platforms, Apple and Google are enabling application developers from all over the world to get involved and compete for revenues, so it stands to reason that prices will remain competitive. At a time when people all across the board are feeling the pinch, this can only be a good thing for businesses and consumers alike.

Thanks for a very interesting article. I missed some more examples and most important naming the fact of the incredible growth of open source content management systems. One such system which is written in the original Perl scripting language (an open source culture for itself!) is the WebAPP CMS. There are several others too. It is peculiar that PHP CMS are growing in even a faster great, I assume that this is because it is easy to learn and use PHP then Perl. But when it comes to security I would recommend you all to stick to Perl Open Source solutions. See CPAN for those incredible and..nearly infinite open source Perl modules as an example.

Is this supposed to be a post or an advertisement for some firm in Bangalore?

Lets be honest, corporate IT is trapped in an environment dominated by Microsoft and SAP (or some version of it).

Most of the talent on board is focused on living within the constraints of this world - often forced to use outdated or outmoded technologies.

With the relentless focus on cost cutting in IT, all of the fun (and most of the real development talent) has been sucked out of the organization.

As for the web, most of corporate america is struggling to update from IE6, much less use or even understand social media or mobile.

Don't bother talking about iPhone apps or Twitter applications with IT. You would be better off selling the benefits of these innovations to marketing.

BK