18 Dec 2002 andago   » (Observer)

50% OF BIG COMPANIES IN SPAIN WILL USE TECHNOLOGY BASED ON FREE SOFTWARE

Madrid, 25 November 2002. The technological consultant Andago, leader in Linux and Open Source technologies for the Spanish market, has carried out its I Report on the use of technologies based on free software in Spain.

The I Andago Report on the use of Linux and Open Source in the Spanish corporative environment has been based on a sample of the most important and influential 1,500 companies in the Spanish market, from invoicing data for the last fiscal year. This study is the first report made in Spain and becomes a reference source on the use of Open Source technologies in the country.

This report shows the results of surveys made from April to October 2002 directed at the main people in charge of IT in these big companies, in a questionnaire containing the following data:

- Degree of knowledge of Open Source technologies

- Degree of penetration of these technologies in the IT infrastructure

- Company strategy for introducing Linux

The main conclusion thrown up by the I Andago Report is that the degree of penetration of technologies based on free software in the corporative world has increased considerably. A few years ago, the use of Open Source technologies was restricted to university environments and GNU/Linux companies, but is now being widely accepted by big companies. According to this study, of IT management in Spain know about Open Source technologies and are familiarized with this type of open systems; consequently this phenomenon is evolving in the corporative environment.

In reference to the use of free software, of big Spanish companies already use it, especially Linux technology. On the other hand, 26% of the companies in the survey are thinking of incorporating these technologies in the near future, which would suppose a penetration of 50% using Open Source among big Spanish companies.

The favorable tendency in the use of open source systems has been increased by diverse factors, like the degree of maturity of the main GNU/Linux applications, the bet by big companies and sectors such as Public Administration and the growing popularity among the media who are using Linux, offered as a big alternative to owner based software. These figures indicate that in Spain the tendency in the use of Linux is favorable, occupying third position in Europe in the use of technologies based in Open Source. The results of similar studies like the FLOSS report, carried out on big companies in the UK, Germany and Sweden show that 43% of German firms, 31% of English firms and 18% of Swedish use Open Source technologies.

Saving in costs, the main advantage of using free software The reasons why the main companies that use, or are thinking of using, Open Source technologies, consist of the following order: saving in costs, quality of the technology and the independence of the supplier. This data is similar to that of the above-mentioned FLOSS report, in which 56% of firms analyzed in Europe list price and independence as the main reasons for using Linux and Open Source. The people in charge of IT place a positive value on these types of technologies that become a technological alternative and which allow implantations of high quality at low cost, without implying economic dependencies on suppliers, and that offer flexibility to the company. As far as the use of technologies based on Linux, a predominance of Internet servers is noticeable, where the number is increasing considerably, being the majority technology, though, also, a positive move toward applications and data servers can be seen. Moreover, an important percentage of this usage, 12%, is found in users terminals and desktop environments, with very complete office automation applications.

The conclusions of this I Andago Report show a rising tendency among big Spanish companies who have knowledge of the existence and advantages of the technologies based on free software. This set of factors augurs a promising future for Linux/Open Source technologies and companies who are starting to base their services around these technologies.

About Andago

Andago is a Spanish company specialized in the development of technology of Internet and Telecommunications, leader in Linux technology in Spain in the business sector and Administration. The company was set up in 1996, thanks to a group of professionals led by José María Olmo, president of the company, who bet on the use of Linux in the carrying out of IT projects. In Andago’s history, the two biggest implantations of Linux in the Spanish Administration, the Virtual Map, based on the connection of all the centers of the Ministry of Public Administration, and the recently presented LinEx, the distribution of Linux adapted for its spreading to all the citizens of Extremadura, a unique initiative in all Europe by an Administration. In the business sector Andago carries out projects for clients like AOL, Vodafone, Euskaltel, Terra, Accenture, Abengoa Group and Prisa Group. Andago relies on the backing of the Talde Group as an investor, holding 25 % of company shares, while the remainder is in the hands of private investors and the management team.

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