Open Source Trends for the Future

Many ideas contributed to the success of Open Source and free software. Where

does it go from here? There are several other technologies and trends that will

truly revolutionize this space in the future. Here are a few ideas that we feel

will really pick up in the near future.

Developer IDEs will become more professional



Developing an open source product? Or, Writing an open source based

application ? Why pay for the IDE ? Open source development has traditionally

lacked an intuitive IDE and RAD (Rapid Application Development) tool, like MS

Visual Studio, which is also open source or free. But then, there are so many

programming languages, platforms, frameworks and libraries in the open source

world. Can a single IDE cater to all ? If yes, can that IDE still support RAD,

architectural features (like UML), development tools (like refactoring and

debugging) and in-built testing (like unit testing) for all the languages and

frameworks? The answer is yes. The examples are Netbeans and Eclipse. Both these

IDEs have been supporting multiple languages like C, C++, Perl, PHP, Ruby and

delivering de-facto development tools like UML designers, refactoring, debugging

and unit testing. Both are free and open source and the good news is, both are

backed by commercial companies like IBM and Sun. Without a debate, there is a

learning curve in using the IDE itself. With so many open source languages and

frameworks, imagine having to use a different IDE for each. Perhaps this is one

of the reasons why Eclipse and Netbeans have become so popular. What's more,

these IDE can be used to develop applications for desktop, web and even mobiles.

Netbeans and Eclipse have surely made their mark in the area of open source

development and will continue to do so in the coming years. They have marked a

shift in paradigm, from one "IDE for each" to "one IDE for all". Recently, when

Google released Android (a Mobile platform), it chose to release an extension/plugin

for Eclipse, rather than a new IDE for Android. That is, applications for

Android can be developed in Eclipse.

Hypervisor/virtualization



Virtualization technology abstracts hardware from software, so that a single

hardware with all its resources appears as multiple logical resources to the

software. This way, one server can run multiple OS (called virtual machines)

simultaneously in complete isolation. The h/w will appear to be available

exclusively for each virtual machine. Hypervisors use virtualization technology,

and Open Source world has lots of them, for eg Xen Hypervisor, VirtualBox, and

VMware ESX Server 3.x Open Source edition. You can virtualize just about

everything: your network, storage, or even applications. Some of the well-known

hypervisor brands have been acquired by bigger companies, for instance, Citrix

acquired XenSource and Sun has acquired Innotek, the creators of VirtualBox.

Many Closed Source vendors are also acquiring virtualization companies like

there's no tomorrow. This obviously implies that you'll see lots of exciting

virtualization solutions in the coming year.

Linux at desktop



Over the past few years Linux vendors have worked on making desktop OS more

user friendly. Now many Linux distros are easy to install. They are getting

flashier with tools like Compiz-fusion. Vendors are also looking to make their

Linux desktops compatible with other OS apps, for eg SUSE desktop supports MS

Word 2007. Linux distros also support the latest technologies, eg for

virtualization most of the distros have support for Xen. Features like Synaptic

Package Manager and CNR, make it very easy to install new software. A lot of

popular games, like Unreal Tournament, are now available for Linux. All this

makes shifting to Linux at the desktop a good choice.

Open Source business apps will flourish



For a long time, Open Source software was considered to be excellent for

basic IT infrastructure, eg network monitoring, email, Internet gateway and the

like. Whenever it came to a serious business application, Open Source is

generally not even considered. But all that is likely to change in the near

future. To give an example, just go through any Open Source community software

portal, like sourceforge.net and look under 'enterprise offerings.' You'll be

surprised at the list of business application projects that are in the making.

ERP, CRM, workflow, project management, business intelligence, are just a few

categories that come to mind. As of now, Open Source business applications have

not reached a level where they can directly compete with their commercial

counterparts. For instance, when it comes to ERP, one can easily recall names

like SAP, Oracle, etc. But one can't recall an equivalent name in the Open

Source world. Nevertheless, there's a lot of interest in this area, so one

should see something emerge from it.

Virtual appliances instead of apps



A spin-off from virtualization, this has really picked up over the past two

years. Unlike virtualization, where you have to go through the headache of

installing the OS and application at least once, virtual appliances do away even

with that. They come pre-configured with the OS and application. This is a big

boon for Open Source applications, because by and large configuring them is no

bed of roses. Simply drag the virtual appliance on top of the virtualization

layer. There are tons of virtual appliances available in Open Source and

millions have already downloaded them. They're available on many platforms,

which include VMWare, Xen, Virtual Box and many others. All these platforms have

their versions available in the public domain.

Web Content management



Portals today are powered by content management systems and Open Source

provides a lot of choice, be it a Web content management, a knowledge base using

Wiki or blogs. While, content management is essential for most organizations, it

may cost millions to implement. This is where Open Source comes to rescue. Pick

up an open source and free content management system and evaluate it for your

needs. Popular examples are Drupal, Joomla, Typo3 and Plone. Most of these

support Blogs and Wikis as an add-on or extension. Else, if you are interested

in a standalone Blog or Wiki, the popular ones are Wordpress and MediaWiki. Many

of these, can be installed on Linux as well as Windows. But there are systems

specific to Windows too, like DotNetNuke and Umbraco.