Europe - the leader in open source

Matthew Aslett of The 451 Group quotes Viviane Reding, Council of Europe Commissioner for the Information Society and Media, which states that Europe needs to capitalize on European Open Source assets:

Online software, exactly like online services, is replacing traditional [desktop] software, and Europe has the advantages of giving it the opportunity to take a leading position in software. This is a great demand for technology, a high level of qualified and talented people, and the fact that 70% of open source software developers in the world are of European origin. However, if you do not hurry, this chance can be missed, since American companies receive 90% of the economic benefits.

Despite this, as Matthew says, Europe itself has not decided on Open Source. Its government policy supports open source software, but its procurement policy is open source mostly neutral. In general, it should take time for words to grow into actions.

And although, indeed, Open Source has an extensive own base in Europe, now all the same to attract investment, a European developer will have to go to the USA.

The economic impact of open source software on Europe should not be underestimated. Europe will certainly need to use and acquire open source software to create its own IT ecosystem with open source software and improve its position in the technology market. It is good that the Council of Europe Commissioner for the Information Society and the European Commission understand this.