Red Hat SummitRed Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT), the world's leading provider of open source solutions, today announced the release of the Open Source Index, a study in conjunction with the Georgia Institute of Technology comparing and contrasting open source activity and environment across 75 countries. The global growth of open source continues to increase across the private sector, government and individuals. As an industry leader, Red Hat presents this study to the community as a framework and tool for furthering the interest and understanding of open source adoption.
The study measures open source using two separate indices: one for activity and another for environment. The activity index measures the amount of open source currently present in a country and includes concrete factors such as existing open source and open standards policies and the number of open source software users or producers. The environment index includes factors at a country level that may further, or coexist with, open source activity such as a high number of Internet users. An interactive map highlighting country rankings is available here.
"Red Hat hopes the Open Source Index will serve as a resource for those within the open source community along with others who are curious about open source to start building relationships and further foster worldwide open source growth," stated Tom Rabon, vice president, Corporate Affairs for Red Hat. "The message of the benefits and value open source delivers is resonating across the globe and there are several geographies that present a great opportunity for open source adoption."
Researchers from Georgia Tech developed the framework for measuring open source usage after reviewing an extensive collection of academic literature, professional and general media and holding in-depth interviews with open source experts and practitioners. Each of the 75 countries identified in the study received a summary score for activity and environment. Both activity and environment were measured on three dimensions: government, industry and community/education. Then, each dimension within activity and environment was measured along several quantitative indicators.
"As the study indicates, open source is thriving across the globe," stated Dr. Paul M.A. Baker, Director of Research for the Center for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP) at Georgia Tech. In keeping with the open source model, we see this study as a starting point and look to others to continue to build on the information contained in the study to make it more comprehensive and reflective of the expansion of the open source software model."
"In completing this study, open source has piqued the interest of Georgia Tech and our students and we've established a course on open source policy which is being taught for the second time during the spring 2009 semester," stated Dr. Douglas S. Noonan, associate professor at the School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech. "Through this class we plan to continue the discussion on why open source succeeds in some countries but struggles to take hold in other regions."
The complete Open Source Index is available for download here.
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About Red Hat, Inc.
Red Hat, the world's leading open source solutions provider, is headquartered in Raleigh, NC with over 65 offices spanning the globe. CIOs ranked Red Hat as one of the top vendors delivering value in Enterprise Software for five consecutive years in the CIO Insight Magazine Vendor Value survey. Red Hat provides high-quality, affordable technology with its operating system platform, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, together with applications, management and Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) solutions, including JBoss Enterprise Middleware. Red Hat also offers support, training and consulting services to its customers worldwide. Learn more: http://www.redhat.com.
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- About Red Hat
Red Hat is the world’s leading provider of open source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to reliable and high-performing cloud, Linux, middleware, storage and virtualization technologies. Red Hat also offers award-winning support, training, and consulting services. As the connective hub in a global network of enterprises, partners, and open source communities, Red Hat helps create relevant, innovative technologies that liberate resources for growth and prepare customers for the future of IT. Learn more at http://www.redhat.com.
- Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: risks related to delays or reductions in information technology spending; the effects of industry consolidation; the ability of the Company to compete effectively; the integration of acquisitions and the ability to market successfully acquired technologies and products; uncertainty and adverse results in litigation and related settlements; the inability to adequately protect Company intellectual property and the potential for infringement or breach of license claims of or relating to third party intellectual property; the ability to deliver and stimulate demand for new products and technological innovations on a timely basis; risks related to data and information security vulnerabilities; ineffective management of, and control over, the Company’s growth and international operations; fluctuations in exchange rates; and changes in and a dependence on key personnel, as well as other factors contained in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (copies of which may be accessed through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at http://www.sec.gov), including those found therein under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations". In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic and political conditions, governmental and public policy changes and the impact of natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company’s views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
