Sovereignty and transparency are bringing open source back to the heart of enterprise strategy

Driven by the need for greater sovereignty, better control over the technologies in use and stronger cost management, open source is no longer seen as a marginal choice by organizations. At the Open Source Experience event, Fabrice Billard, Head of Architecture and DevOps at Orange Business, shares his perspective on the current dynamics shaping the open source ecosystem.

Open source, long adopted for cost and collaboration reasons, is now returning to the center of technology decisions within organizations. Alongside these traditional motivations, new expectations are emerging, with companies seeking greater control over the solutions they deploy, full transparency on the code and the ability to maintain real control over their systems. In practice, this shift is driving growing demand, with new types of organizations, previously less interested in open source solutions, now starting to adopt them.

We are seeing renewed interest in open source today. How do you explain this shift, and what concrete signs are you observing in the field?

There is indeed renewed interest in open source, even though it is far from a new topic. In the past, organizations mainly adopted it for cost reasons and for its collaborative approach to software development.

Today, the motivations have evolved. Sovereignty has become a key factor, as organizations want greater control over the solutions they use and a better understanding of how they are built. Open source code provides this level of transparency. Artificial intelligence, and especially generative AI, is also playing a role. Open source is widely used in this field and helps accelerate innovation thanks to strong collaboration and highly active expert communities.

In the field, the shift is clear. In the past, we were the ones proposing these solutions. Now, clients are increasingly asking for them, including organizations that previously showed little interest. Regulatory changes such as NIS2, along with the need for better cost control, are also reinforcing this trend. Open source is now seen as a credible option among enterprise technology choices.

Why does Orange Business choose to integrate open source into its portfolio, and how do you support organizations that want to adopt it?

Orange relies on open source for several reasons. As a sovereign company, it must be able to offer open solutions to customers who want greater control over the technologies they use, without requiring them to fully switch to this model. Demand is also evolving. More and more organizations are showing interest in these technologies, and it is natural for Orange Business to adapt its portfolio accordingly.

Support usually starts with a consulting phase to understand why an organization wants to move away from a specific vendor or explore open source solutions. This is followed by a comparison of different options, looking at factors such as the strength of the community behind the project, its track record and the frequency of code updates. These elements help assess the reliability of the solution and its ability to evolve over time.

Orange Business also supports governance to ensure that the solution remains relevant in the long term, as well as integration and support. Support can range from level 1 to level 4 depending on the solution, with level 4 meaning the ability to contribute directly to the code and fix the product as part of the community. The goal is to provide a consistent level of service throughout the entire lifecycle of the solution.

This year you are presenting the Data Rider demonstrator at the OSXP event. What is it, and what does it show in practice about your expertise in open source?

Data Rider is an interactive demonstrator built around a small racetrack where two cars move using handheld controllers. The track is equipped with sensors that continuously collect data, which is then processed using open source technologies.

The first part of the demonstration focuses on monitoring, with real-time analysis and statistics about the race. The second part highlights artificial intelligence. One of the cars can be driven automatically and adjusts its speed based on the characteristics of the track.

This demonstrator was created because it can be difficult to showcase our expertise in real-time data processing and artificial intelligence, often due to security or confidentiality constraints. The open source solutions used here are similar to those we deploy at scale for some of our clients. They reproduce, on a smaller scale, mechanisms that are used in much larger operational environments.

Trust is often a key question when it comes to open source. What are the main concerns you encounter, and how do you address them?

Trust remains an important topic. The concerns are sometimes paradoxical. Some companies choose open source because they can access the code and feel they have better control over the technologies they use. This is often the case for organizations that are already familiar with open source. Others are more hesitant, as they have long relied on traditional software vendors and still associate robustness and support with proprietary solutions. For them, open source represents a shift that needs guidance, and this is where we act as a trusted partner.

To build confidence, several criteria are assessed, such as the number of contributors involved in a project, the frequency of code updates and the project’s track record. When necessary, we can also contribute directly by mobilizing our own developers to fix issues and provide a level of support comparable to that of a software vendor.

There are also some persistent misconceptions, including the idea that open source is only for “geeks” or that it lacks industrial maturity. This is no longer the reality. Today, open-source solutions follow professional development practices and can scale just as effectively as proprietary technologies.

In your view, what major trends will shape the future of open source in enterprises?

In my view, open source adoption often starts from the lower layers of the technology stack, particularly infrastructure. Linux has been present there for a long time, and today almost all enterprise servers run on this system. One level above, virtualization is still largely dominated by traditional vendors, although open source alternatives are gradually emerging. The closer we get to end users, the fewer open solutions are available.

One of the main barriers remains usability. Proprietary solutions are often more polished for end users, while open source tools can sometimes be less user-friendly. However, open source continues to move up the stack and is increasingly offering credible alternatives, including in areas such as office productivity tools.

Within enterprises, open source is already well established in infrastructure and virtualization. It will likely continue to expand without necessarily replacing software vendors. The key change today is that most organizations are now considering both models, whereas some did not even explore open source in the past.

It is also important to note that many solutions developed in Europe have historically faced a gap compared with those from the United States or Asia, often due to lower levels of investment. In some cases, open source can help reduce that gap by enabling broader collaboration and shared innovation.