Large Organisations To Deploy More Free Software In 2010

Around half of large organisations (51 percent) will deploy more enterprise-wide free software in 2010, according to new research. The trend is partly driven by the pressure on enterprise IT budgets; with two thirds of CIOs saying their budget is the same – or less – than in 2009. The full report is available at http://www.globalgraphics.com/freesoftware

Commissioned by Global Graphics, a developer of e-document and printing software, the research also shows that three quarters (76 percent) of large organisations already use free applications across the enterprise. Indeed, over half (54 percent) of large organisations use more than 10 different software products that are free. The findings are based on interviews with 400 CIOs from organisations with over 1,000 employees across the US (300 CIOs) and the UK (100 CIOs).

The most deployed piece of free software is Adobe Reader, which is used by 78 percent of organisations (at an enterprise or departmental level), with Java Runtime Environment and Adobe Flash Player completing the top three. QuickTime, OpenOffice, Google Docs, Skype and Microsoft Save as PDF also make the top 10 most used free applications.

The main driver for using free software, cited by 47 percent of CIOs, is to complement existing desktop applications to extend functionality to users that could not be provided using paid-for software. The replacement of Adobe Acrobat was cited by 38 percent of CIOs, while 24 percent are looking to free applications to replace Microsoft Office.

“Free software is a critical part of large organisations’ IT strategies,” says Gary Fry, Chief Executive Officer, Global Graphics. “Large organisations are perfectly prepared to use free applications where possible, and upgrade to a full paid-for version of the product where it makes sense for them.”

Free software is used throughout organisations but is most prevalent at the desktop (82 percent) and application level (78 percent), although 35 percent of large organisations are also deploying free applications within the data centre.