The vibrancy of the European systems integration community is very evident at the Open World Forum in Paris this week. Companies exhibiting at the forum include NXC, Smile, solinux, and the sizable Bull. Many of these companies are quite large, with hundreds of employees and distinct practices (which often include ECM-related services).

What is interesting about these companies is their focus on open source and their significant customer engagements. These firms, and many like them, are actively contributing to the open source communities that they participate in.

What is driving the growth of this SI community? Or perhaps more importantly, why don’t we see a similar groundswell in the UK?

Yes, government policy, in particular the preference for spending locally and on open source, is driving money towards SI’s. Many of these policies are however in place in the UK and we don’t see a similar effect. Additionally, most of the SI’s I have spoken to have very many private sector customers, with some of the SI’s earning more revenue from these contracts than from public sector engagements.

So why, compared to Europe, is there such a dearth of private sector demand for open source in the UK? I asked Matt Aslett from the 451 Group, an analyst firm, and he had a rather interesting answer: language and culture. He believes that in the UK, it is just too easy to purchase English language proprietary products and associated services, many of which originate from the US. The European desire to localize and customize for local norms is both supported by open source and drives open source innovation, to the benefit of all.