Seize The Open Source Opportunity
Through Comprehensive, Optimized Strategies
Organizations That Combine Intentional Strategy With Skilled
Resources Better Position Themselves For Modern IT Excellence
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FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY PERFORCE | APRIL 2021

SEIZE THE OPEN SOURCE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE, OPTIMIZED STRATEGIESOverview

Comprehensive, Optimized Strategies
Unlock Open Source Benefits

Current State

Open source software (OSS) has cemented its role as a criticaltechnology agenda driver for enterprises. However, too few
firms take the necessary steps to optimize their OSS strategies
like designating an OSS strategy lead and establishing andcommunicating policies for OSS usage and contributions.1 It’s

Challenges

critical that brands also align their strategies to incorporate
critical services like support, training, education, and consulting
to drive OSS benefits.

Opportunity

Without comprehensive and optimized strategies that govern
the critical pillars of running OSS, organizations risk missing out
on the benefits it can deliver, including greater flexibility andbetter efficiency, time to market for products, customer andemployee experiences, and more.

Conclusion
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY PERFORCE | APRIL 2021

2

Key Findings

OSS is a critical enabler of IT agendas.
Organizations increasingly turn to OSS topower digital transformation and to drive
efficiencies, flexibility, and interoperability
within their market.
Maximizing OSS benefits requires an optimized,
comprehensive strategy. Companies that have
optimized strategies across all pillars of OSS
experience better outcomes compared to theirless mature peers.
OSS strategies require skills and partners toflourish. Gaining more expertise, accessing
training, and onboarding qualified
third-party external assistance are top
drivers of OSS success.

SEIZE THE OPEN SOURCE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE, OPTIMIZED STRATEGIES

3

Overview

Open Source Is A Critical Driver
Of Modern IT Agendas

Current State
State
Challenges

OSS is a critical driver of most organizations’ important digital
agenda items. For example, 68% of survey respondents report thatOSS is a “Very important” or “Mission critical” enabler of digitaltransformation initiatives. OSS will let them harness digital assets,skills, and ecosystems to continuously improve customer outcomes,
drive revenue growth, and increase operational effectiveness.

Opportunity

More than half of respondents also see OSS as an enabler forobjectives including reducing costs, improving the efficiency ofdevelopment teams, and cloud migration initiatives. Taken together,
OSS emerges as a central pillar of enterprises’ efforts to meet current
technology benchmarks and future-proof IT strategies to keep up
with developments.

“How important is open source to your company’s
digital transformation initiatives?”

20% 48% 28% 4%
MissioncriticalVeryimportant

ImportantNotimportant“For which of the following objectives do you deploy
open source solutions today?”
Reducing overall costs

57%

Conclusion

development
55% Improving
team efficiency
Shifting our IT infrastructure
or workloads to the cloud
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY PERFORCE | APRIL 2021

54%

Base: 159 director+ decision makers for open source adoption and/or cloud strategy in North America.
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Perforce, March 2021.

SEIZE THE OPEN SOURCE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE, OPTIMIZED STRATEGIES

4

Overview

OSS Is Increasingly The Default
Strategy For Enterprises

Current State
State
Challenges

OSS approaches are becoming the go-to strategy for many IT
organizations, which is no surprise given how they place OSS atthe core of their most pressing IT initiatives. Almost all (96%) of
respondents have formed policies that allow for OSS adoption at theteam, departmental, or enterprise-wide level. Thirty-seven percent ofsurvey respondents report that OSS is prioritized by default acrossthe enterprise. However, a large percentage of respondents statethat open source adoption is a team decision, which can lead toPlaceholder
fragmentation and problems with interoperability, security, and scale.

Opportunity
Conclusion

Enterprises will increase reliance on OSS going forward. Nearly
three-quarters of respondents say their organizations will increase
their reliance on OSS this year, while 26% intend to maintain thecurrent role of OSS in their strategies, and just 2% plan to becomeless reliant on it by 2022.

FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY PERFORCE | APRIL 2021

“Which of the following best describes how yourorganization approaches open source adoption?”
We have a company-wide policy toprioritize open source

37%

Teams make decisions on open
source adoption independently

38%

Open source policy varies bydepartment/division21%

Per company policy, open source canbe used only by exception

4%“Which of the following statements best describes
your organizations’ plans for open source this year?”
We plan to significantly increase ourreliance on open source technologies

28%

We plan to increase our reliance on
open source technologies

44%

We plan to maintain our reliance on
open source technologies

26%

We plan to decrease our reliance on
open source technologies

2%

Base: 159 director+ decision makers for open source adoption and/or cloud strategy in North America.
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Perforce, March 2021.

SEIZE THE OPEN SOURCE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE, OPTIMIZED STRATEGIESOverview

OSS Is Too Important To Leave
To Ad-Hoc Strategies

Current State

Reliance on OSS will only continue to grow. Many enterprises don’t
understand how individual open source technologies operate,though, or how to take advantage of OSS in a comprehensive
manner.2 These ad-hoc strategies threaten key pillars of IT
infrastructure.

Challenges
Opportunity

Sixty-nine percent of respondents plan to move operating systems,
and 67% are looking to migrate their databases to OSS. Sixty
percent plan to have monitoring, analytics, and DevOps tooling on
open source as well, and nearly half are looking to shift containers
or microservices. Overall, 97% of decision-makers report theirorganization’s intention to move at least one aspect of their IT
infrastructure to OSS.

5

“What areas of your IT infrastructure are you
considering moving to open source?”
Operating systems

69%

Databases

67%

Monitoring and analytics

60%

Devops tooling60%

Containers andmircoservices

47%

Conclusion

Middleware
We are not migrating any
applications or workloads
to open source
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY PERFORCE | APRIL 2021

38%

3%

Base: 159 director+ decision makers for open source adoption and/or cloud strategy in North America.
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Perforce, March 2021.

SEIZE THE OPEN SOURCE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE, OPTIMIZED STRATEGIES

6

Overview

Non-Optimized Support And Lifecycle
Management Limit OSS SuccessCurrent State

Unoptimized, siloed strategies can make it difficult to fully realize
open source success. At best, 40% of respondents report theirorganization has optimized strategies for supporting open source,
while 64% have sub-optimal strategies governing the comprehensive
set of OSS capabilities.

Challenges
Opportunity

When companies fail to create and align behind optimized,
comprehensive strategies, they struggle to hire and retain high-end
talent who prefer OSS environments. These organizations also fallbehind in maintenance lifecycles, pay for software innovations they
could have accessed for free, and ultimately perpetuate a culture of
OSS avoidance that can exacerbate and perpetuate personnel andcost challenges.3

Conclusion
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY PERFORCE | APRIL 2021

“Which statement best describes your organization’s
approach to each of the following aspects of youropen source strategy?”
Optimized approach

Non-optimized approach

Supporting open source

40%

60%

Onboarding open source

38%

62%

Migrating existing tools/workloads
to open source

37%

63%

Comprehensive capabilities
that govern finding, onboarding,
supporting, maintaining, andmigrating / expanding open source

36%

64%

Finding and selecting open source

36%

64%

Maintaining open source

33%

67%

Base: 159 director+ decision makers for open source adoption and/or cloud strategy in North America.
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Perforce, March 2021.

SEIZE THE OPEN SOURCE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE, OPTIMIZED STRATEGIES

7

Overview

Very Few Organizations Come
To Regret OSS Implementation

Current State
Challenges

Enterprises that have implemented OSS tend to be highly satisfied
with the results. Ninety-one percent of respondents report theirorganization’s OSS initiatives either met (60%) or exceeded (31%)
expectations. But this same data illustrates the value of approachingan OSS initiative with an optimized, comprehensive strategy for thiscritical technology driver.

Opportunity
Opportunity

An enterprise-wide strategy for using and contributing to OSS
is a critical prerequisite to the success of OSS programs within
the enterprise.4 Respondents who currently have an optimized,
comprehensive OSS strategy were 82% more likely to say their firm’s
OSS initiatives exceeded expectations compared to peers whose
strategies are less optimal and more limited in scope.

“To what degree has your open source initiative
delivered on expectations for your company?”

60%

Met
expectations

9%

31%

Missedexpectations

Exceeded
expectations

Conclusion

Organizations with optimized
strategies are 82% more
likely to have OSS initiatives
exceeded expectations
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY PERFORCE | APRIL 2021

Base: 159 director+ decision makers for open source adoption and/or cloud strategy in North America.
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Perforce, March 2021.

SEIZE THE OPEN SOURCE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE, OPTIMIZED STRATEGIESOverview

Intentional OSS Strategies Lead To Better
Business And Customer Outcomes

Current StateOSS implementations lead to substantial, long-lasting benefits,
which is a big reason for their popularity among businesses.
OSS implementations accelerate application development anddeployment, empower digital innovations, and ease ecosystem
adoption of products and solutions.5

Challenges
Opportunity
Opportunity

Respondents point to OSS driving greater flexibility, faster timeto-market, shorter innovation cycles, and lower operational costs.
Crucially, OSS adoption links improvements in both customer andemployee experience, leading to more satisfied and profitable
relationships in both areas. Overall, 99% of study participantsrealized at least one of these benefits.

8“Which of the following outcomes have you
experienced with open source adoption?”
Greater flexibility

72%

Faster product /service innovation

70%

Better employee
experience / satisfaction

53%

Lower operational
overhead

53%

Better customer
experience / satisfaction

51%

We haven’t experienced
any benefits

1%Conclusion
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY PERFORCE | APRIL 2021

Base: 159 director+ decision makers for open source adoption and/or cloud strategy in North America.
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Perforce, March 2021.

SEIZE THE OPEN SOURCE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE, OPTIMIZED STRATEGIES

9Overview

Pair Comprehensive Strategies WithThe Internal and External Skills To Execute

Current State
Challenges

Organizations must execute comprehensive, optimized OSS
strategies with qualified internal and external expertise to realize
the substantial and sustained benefits of OSS. Forty-four percent
of respondents report that comprehensive, clearly defined OSS
strategies drive open source success, while 43% believe moreexpertise and capabilities are needed to achieve it.

Opportunity
Opportunity

But that expertise often requires external support andsupplementation even if coming internally, as 41% of respondents
believe their organization needs more and better training for internal
resources, and 37% of respondents want access to qualified, expert
assistance from external third parties to ensure their implementations
reach their full potential.

“Which of the following factors do you believe
would be most likely to drive successful open
source implementations at your organization?”
Rank 1

Rank 2

Rank 3Conclusion

Assistance with initial setup /architecture design

11%

Assistance with regulatory /compliance requirements

16%

17%

Assigning / designating an internal
executive champion for open
source initiatives

15%

13%

13%

Assistance with ongoing maintenanceof open source implementations

14%

12%

11%

Access to qualified, expert
assistance from external parties

10%

Improved / greater access totraining on open source

13%

Gaining more expertiseand capabilities

9%

Comprehensive, clearly defined andarticulated open source strategies
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY PERFORCE | APRIL 2021

14%

11%

44%

19%

10%

41%

37%

36%

15%

8% 9%

43%

30%

9%

11%

29%

8% 12%

8%28%

Base: 159 director+ decision makers for open source adoption and/or cloud strategy in North America.
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Perforce, March 2021.

SEIZE THE OPEN SOURCE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE, OPTIMIZED STRATEGIES

10

Overview

Conclusion

Current StateThe majority of IT leaders see OSS as a critical driver of their IT
agenda. Because of this, it’s become their go-to strategy whenmodernizing business-critical assets. Yet realizing OSS benefits candepend on two critical factors:

Challenges
Opportunity

Teaming with the right partner maximizes OSS success. While
OSS is free and open, it’s still complex and requires expertise tomaintain, support, and operate at scale. Enterprises adopt OSS tosave money and innovate, not to find new ways to consume valuable
development and IT resources. That’s why finding the right partner
to help you with migration, ongoing management, and support can
maximize the value you get from OSS applications.

Conclusion

Enterprises that adopt a comprehensive OSS strategy benefit themost from OSS. Having a comprehensive OSS strategy clarifies whowill lead OSS initiatives, OSS usage governance, the role of internal
resources, and external support services. Defining these areas will
help pave the way to leveraging OSS as a critical IT enabler.

FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY PERFORCE | APRIL 2021

Project Director:
Nicholas Phelps,
Principal Market Impact Consultant
Contributing Research:
Forrester’s Application
Development and Delivery
Professionals research group

SEIZE THE OPEN SOURCE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE, OPTIMIZED STRATEGIES

11

Overview

Methodology

Current State

This Opportunity Snapshot was commissioned by Perforce. To create thisprofile, Forrester Consulting supplemented this research with custom survey
questions asked of open source and cloud adoption decision-makers at
North American enterprises. The custom survey began and was completed
in March 2021.

Demographics
COUNTRY

SIZE

US (66%)$500M to $99M (21%)

Canada (34%)$1B to $5B (57%)$5B+ (23%)

ENDNOTES

Challenges

Source: “To Maximize OSS Value, Create An OSS Strategy,” Forrester Research, Inc., March 27, 2020.

1

Ibid.

2

Ibid.

3

4

DEPARTMENT

INDUSTRY

Ibid.

5

Opportunity

Source: “The Benefits Of An Open Source Strategy,” Forrester Research, Inc., April 3, 2020.

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FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY PERFORCE | APRIL 2021

Healthcare (19%)
Other (23%)
Note: Percentages may not total 100 because of rounding.