This year, we saw many changes in how the tech world views open source technologies. The open source development services industry continues to grow and Linux keeps evolving against all odds. This growth won’t be slowing down anytime soon.

In 2019, we will see open source advance even further with more impact on various industries including open source eCommerce development, content management systems, enterprise-grade software etc.

This article prognosticates open source’s growth in 2019. Here are a few predictions.

More open source acquisitions

2018 placed even more emphasis on the potential of open source for enterprises evident from one of the largest purchases of an open source company ever – IBM’s acquisition of Red Hat. We will likely witness even more open source acquisitions next year as enterprises slowly shift their focus on open source technologies. 

Middle Eastern businesses are also relying more on open source technologies to employ robust, cost-effective digital solutions that don’t require a lot of investment. Experts in the Software Development Dubai industry claim that many enterprises in the Middle East prefer bespoke open source solutions, and the demand keeps rising every year. Considering all that, it’s safe to assume that open source will have more power over large enterprises as the prices for proprietary alternatives continue to increase.

More Microsoft patents

Microsoft made a historical move by laying open 60000 of their patents. There are 30000 pending patents that Microsoft assured will be eventually included in the OIN license. We won’t be seeing all of those pending patents issued in 2019 but we will most certainly see increased use of the 60000 patents made available to the open source community. With one of the largest companies in the world building the bridge between itself and open source, we can say for sure that open source is going to evolve even further in the coming years.

Linux will be closer to dominating desktop

More Linux desktops is a pipedream at present though the open source OS is expected to get there sometime in the future. 2019 might accelerate this journey making Linux more prevalent as a desktop OS. The KDE Plasma which is being developed now is reportedly expected to impress desktop users to the point that they will switch from their desktop of choice to a Plasma desktop. We will be hearing more of it next year for sure.

Linux will be a core driver of AI

Artificial Intelligence is all the rage now, and it’s all because of big data. When it comes to big data, not many people know that Linux is the most important player in the game. Google’s Android will also be leveraging AI which all points to a possibility where the world realizes Linux has a direct, irreplaceable relationship with AI. 

Conclusion

These are just a few areas where open source will dominate next year. The bars are set high and open source has the potential to exceed it. We will be seeing all of this and more next year as open source moves closer to becoming the single most influential technology in the world.