After several mergers and acquisitions, a lot of open source investment will start paying even more dividends in the coming years. Given how it has become the driving force behind many of the world’s cloud-based systems, companies need to keep a close eye on open source trends that could affect their strategies for the coming months.

In the realm of collaborative alliances, where Microsoft joins hands with Github and IBM intertwines with Red Hat, a tapestry of open-source influence unfolds. Within this dynamic milieu, enterprises find themselves poised to weave an exquisite creation, drawing inspiration from the finest threads of these corporate collaborations. The burgeoning landscape of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the ensuing proliferation of data nodes has bestowed upon businesses a profound realization. In navigating this era of information abundance, companies discern the imperative of harnessing the capabilities of cloud-based systems to distill the quintessence of pertinent insights.

The days of relying exclusively on proprietary solutions to do this are long gone. Open standards have become part of the approach many organizations take towards implementing technology innovation. And those that have not done so yet, will soon follow as they seek to find relevance in an increasingly digital (and connected) world.

This will also likely impact the cost of solutions. Using open standards is resulting in products being developed faster as data is analyzed in virtually real-time. Understand what customers want and providing the customization to do so, have become integral to the operating environment today. And the secret to this must be the open source foundation on which this is built.

Local changes

The impending establishment of multiple global data sanctuaries in the South Africa, heralded by the forthcoming arrival of two from Microsoft and one from Amazon Web Services, promises to cast a benevolent spell upon the indigenous market. Beyond dispelling the skepticism shrouding cloud adoption, this development serves as a resounding testament to substantial investments being sown in the fertile grounds of the nation. More profoundly, it positions South Africa not merely as a beneficiary but as a veritable Launchpad for cloud and open-source endeavors, poised to sprout forth and unfurl its wings across the expanse of the entire continent. The evolving landscape is seeing business requirements also shifting. Next year will see a veritable land rush for position in the cloud environment. More C-suite decision-makers are open to going, well, open, and vendors and service providers are clamoring for market position.

Providing even more impetus for this is the recent launch of what many consider to be South Africa’s first truly digital bank. Focusing on ‘behavioral’ banking, all its systems are cloud-based highlighting the security, availability, and redundancy of going this route. Moreover, it is built on open standards all but giving the death knell to those who think proprietary is still the preferred method of doing business.

Next year will be an intriguing one to see where the cloud and the open standards approach will be heading. Strap in and enjoy the ride.

Obsidian Systems

Obsidian Systems is an established supplier of Open Source software solutions. The company was started in 1995 as a services provider targeting businesses and organizations looking to integrate and leverage off Linux infrastructure. Obsidian Systems has expanded its knowledge base in partnership with subsidiaries Cape Town based Autumn Leaf and GuruHut.

The expansion of skills is now a formidable team with Java™ expertise aligning our Enterprise Open Source solution for retail, supporting technology and consulting services across enterprise-ready open source infrastructure, big data, collaboration and agile IT strategies for your business. Obsidian Systems and its subsidiaries strive to bring three legs to the South African market: the first being vendor-certified products, the second bein g local skills providing consulting, development and support and the third being vendor-certified training and certification. With these three elements, any organization can trust the enterprise open source solution provided.