IN a recent study comparing open-source usage across 75 countries worldwide, Singapore ranked 16th. The study by Georgia Institute of Technology in the US, measured the amount of open source currently present in a country, taking into account factors such as existing open source and open standards policies, and the number of open-source software users or producers in the country.

The Open Source Activity Index also includes a ranking for industry activity. Here, Singapore ranked third among the 75 countries, demonstrating a high level of open-source activity in the private sector.

To understand the importance of open-source software for Singapore, BizIT spoke to a group of industry experts.

Panellists:

* Gery Messer, president, Red Hat Asia-Pacific
* James Loo, chief information officer of YCH Group and chief operating officer of Y3 Technologies
* Christopher Yeo, chief technology officer of Rednano.sg
* Ridhi Sawhney, market analyst, IDC Asia-Pacific Software Research

Moderator: Amit Roy Choudhury, Senior Correspondent, The Business Times

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