New report by Perforce, Eclipse Foundation, and OSI reveals organizations struggle with Big Data confidence, skills shortages, and EOL software risks
Perforce Software, in partnership with the Eclipse Foundation and the Open Source Initiative (OSI), has released the 2025 State of Open Source Report, offering an in-depth look at the growing role of open source in enterprise technology. While adoption continues to rise—driven largely by cost savings and innovation—organizations are grappling with critical issues around Big Data, compliance, and in-house expertise.
“Open source is the engine driving innovation in Big Data, AI, and beyond—but adoption alone isn’t enough.”
— Gaël Blondelle, Chief Membership Officer, Eclipse Foundation
According to the report, nearly half (47%) of organizations managing Big Data rate their confidence between 0 and 2 on a scale of 1 to 5, indicating major challenges in managing platforms like PostgreSQL, Hadoop, and Kafka.
“Many organizations know what data they are looking for and how they want to process it, but lack the in-house expertise to manage the platform itself,”
— Matthew Weier O’Phinney, Principal Product Manager, Perforce OpenLogic
As a result, some companies are forced to move toward commercial alternatives, while others risk falling behind by relying on undertrained staff—raising the stakes for issues like data privacy, scalability, and cost overruns.
The report also reveals widespread use of end-of-life (EOL) software like CentOS Linux, especially in Asia. Despite known risks, 40% of large enterprises still use it in production environments. Alarmingly, organizations using EOL software were three times more likely to fail a compliance audit.
“The State of Open Source Report demonstrates that big enterprises are not necessarily more mature when it comes to their open source strategy,”
— Stefano Maffulli, Executive Director, Open Source Initiative
While large companies are more likely to establish Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs), the report shows that small organizations (under 20 employees) are leading the way in contributing to open source communities, challenging the assumption that innovation is limited to enterprise giants.
Despite challenges, cost savings remain a key driver, with a spike from 37% in 2024 to 53% in 2025. But growth is hindered by personnel shortages, lack of experience, and insufficient real-time support. Over half of respondents said they were addressing these issues through training (49.5%), contractors (30.9%), or third-party partnerships (25.2%).
“To unlock its full potential, organizations need to invest in their people, establish the right processes, and actively contribute to the long-term sustainability and growth of the technologies they depend on,”
— Gaël Blondelle, Eclipse Foundation
The full 2025 State of Open Source Report is available for free download here. A webinar featuring a panel of contributors will take place on April 30, offering further insights into the findings.