Nov 2008
Mobility Matters

Linux and open source software have crept into the enterprise market, mainly through infrastructure software and now — after a decade of development and use — further up the stack into applications. However, when considering the emerging mobile software space, we see open source with a significant presence in all layers of the stack from the start. It looms largest at the infrastructure and OS level with Linux efforts from Google and the Linux Mobile (LiMO) Foundation as well as Symbian, which is being open-sourced by Nokia. Yet we’ve heard big things about mobile Linux and open source before, only to see little actually materialize. Will this time around be different? Will open source help deliver the development speed and user input to rival the innovation and attention of Apple and its iPhone? Will a more open environment draw in more developers and users? Could Linux and open source provide an easier link to enterprise applications and therefore enterprise adoption of mobile devices?

As trends in the industry and milestones such as Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android and an open Symbian from Nokia set a fast pace for this segment, we investigate how well open source will enable companies — from OS players to development outfits to application vendors — to keep up. What are the hurdles, benefits, opportunities and risks to using open source in mobile software? How will it stack up against proprietary, sometimes entrenched, competition? What about adoption in the more mainstream consumer device market and the mobile enterprise — will open source present challenges or opportunities for vendors that choose it?

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