Open source guru Larry Augustin underscored the growth of open source during his afternoon keynote session at Day 2 of SugarCon 2008. Among other topics, Larry highlighted that “open source has become pervasive, safe, and is now the default choice for businesses.”

Illustrating open source’s adoption curve, Augustin pointed out that “in the 1980’s you would never have been fired for buying IBM; in the 1990s, you never would have been fired for purchasing Microsoft. Today, it’s become open source.” That point has been exemplified by recent reports and acquisitions within the software sector, which Augustin highlighted with the following facts:

- Venture funding of open source software companies continues to increase, with $300 million in funding expected this year.

- By 2010, Gartner says IT departments within Global 500 companies will use open source in 80 percent of its infrastructure and 25 percent of business software applications.

- In terms of developing better software, Linux continues to rank higher than any other operating system in both software defects and failure rates.

And speaking of funding, Sugar happily announced an additional $20 million in funding from New Enterprise Associates, Draper Fisher Juvetson, and Walden International, which Larry Dignan all too happily blogged about.

Larry Augustin talks open source