A survey conducted by BearingPoint and sponsored by Black Duck software shows that European automakers are relying on open-source software. However, governance is an issue.
A new survey
of the European automotive industry indicated widespread use of free and open-source
software (FOSS) but pointed to gaps in the FOSS governance and software asset
management processes across software supply chains.
The survey,
conducted by European-based management consultancy BearingPoint and underwritten by Black Duck Software, a provider of
open-source governance solutions, found that 85 percent of those polled said
they use FOSS, but only 2.9 percent have open-source compliance tools in place.
Moreover,
study participants representing 50 percent of the European Union automotive
ecosystem, including auto manufacturers (OEMs), Tier 1 suppliers and automotive
software developers, indicated that drivers of FOSS use for them include competitive
differentiation, reduced development costs, increased customization agility and
avoidance of software vendor lock-in.
Although
survey respondents indicated increasing reliance on FOSS59 percent use FOSS in
products with an additional 35 percent evaluating FOSS usean overwhelming
majority had no structured way to ensure compliance and automated control of
FOSS deployments. While many have processes to govern traditional software
development and manage requirements, very few manage the deployment or
selection of FOSS components with the same rigor.
"This
study demonstrates that open source should be an important part of any software
strategy in the automotive industry," Dirk Riehle, head of the Open Source
Institute and professor at the University of Erlangen/Nuremberg, who
scientifically guided the study, said in a statement. "By publishing the
data, companies throughout the automotive ecosystem can learn from each other
about the prevalence of open-source use, and the need to properly manage open-source
compliance and governance."
Concerning
supplier management, while the majority of companies using FOSS check
traditional software supplier deliverables against specifications, only
one-third perform supplier audits and less than 25 percent require a FOSS bill
of materials from suppliers. Even fewer check for FOSS license complianceless
than one in 10across their software supply chains, Black Duck said.
"The
accelerated use of FOSS has encouraged and enabled innovation in automotive
OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers," said Tim Yeaton, president and CEO of Black
Duck, in a statement. "As the automotive industry continues to increase
its use of FOSS across digital supply chains, it must adopt and embrace
policies and processes to manage FOSS with the same rigor and commitment as it
did for Lean Manufacturing and ISO-9000 best practices with traditional auto
supply chains."
Software is
pervasive in automotive platforms and components. Many of todays cars host
more than 100 million lines of software code. According to a report
by the GENIVI Alliance, an automotive industry association driving the
development and adoption of an open in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) platform,
nearly 70 percent of this software is found in the "head unit," the
telematics and IVI subsystem. Moreover, in-vehicle infotainment systems are
increasingly being developed on FOSS-based platforms, such as GENIVI and
Android.
"Automotive
OEMs have benefited from modular and platform-based car architectures for many
years, Alexander Krzepinski, head of product lifecycle management at
BearingPoint, said in a statement. The concept of platforms and reuse of
modules and parts not only makes sense for mechanic and electronic components,
but also and foremost for software, which has an evolving stake in the
automotive industry. Our recent study about free and open-source software
management has confirmed the trend that more and more automotive companies try
to accomplish significant cost reductions and competitive advantage through
adoption of FOSS."
A summary of
Black Duck study results is available
here.
Earlier this
month, Black Duck announced that is an active member of the GENIVI Alliance.
The company also announced that it has a strategic partnership with MontaVista
Software, a specialist in embedded Linux-based OSS platforms, that offers the
Automotive Technology Platform (ATP), a GENIVI-compliant IVI platform.
Leading Black
Duck's automotive market development is Boris Geller, a technology executive
with more than 20 years experience building high-growth global software and
services businesses. Previously, Geller served in senior corporate development,
marketing, strategy, R&D and architecture roles at Oracle/BEA Systems, DEC
and several Silicon Valley startups. He has a strong knowledge of OSS, cloud
and supply chain offerings across a number of industries in the United States,
Europe and China, as well as extensive experience with operating systems,
middleware, virtualization and enterprise application platforms software, Black
Duck said.
Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.
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