The Future Of Open Source in Clinical Research

It was a privilege for OpenClinica to help with the “Future of Open Source” survey recently completed by Michael Skok of North Bridge Ventures, Black Duck and Forrester. The survey polled users and other stakeholders across the entire spectrum of OSS.

Recently published results from the survey substantiate the idea that open source is ‘eating the software world’s lunch’ (to borrow a phrase from Michael). OSS powers innovation, increases security, and enables a virtuous cycle of proliferation and participation across major sectors of our economy. This is even true in healthcare and life sciences, and we are seeing these trends within OpenClinica community. People are adopting OpenClinica and other open source research technologies because of the quality, flexibility, and security they provide, not just to save a buck or two.

What I find particularly significant in the results is the increased recognition of quality as a key driver of adopting open source. 8 out of 10 survey respondents indicate quality as a factor for increased OSS adoption. This has vaulted from the #5 factor in the 2011 survey to #1. In research, quality and integrity of data are paramount. OpenClinica’s active (and vocal!) community’s constant scrutiny of the code, and continuous improvements demonstrate the power of the open source model in producing quality software...