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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe 2025 State of Open Source in Financial Services report finds strong support for open source among survey respondents, alongside persistent questions about security, contribution, and how to measure returns. Produced by Linux Foundation Research and FINOS, it is the fifth annual study of how financial-services organizations use, govern, and contribute to open source. Its findings are a survey snapshot and an analysis of selected public GitHub activity—not a census of the industry or proof that open source alone caused reported business outcomes.
What does the 2025 report say?
Respondents largely view open source as strategically important. In the FINOS survey of 209 people for the 2025 report, 87% said open source is critical to their organization’s future, while 84% said it is essential to the financial-services sector. These are respondents’ views, not independently audited assessments of every firm.
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The report combines survey responses, analysis of public GitHub activity, and qualitative perspectives on governance, leadership, organizational culture, business value, and obstacles to collaboration. It is the fifth consecutive annual collaboration between Linux Foundation Research and FINOS.
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The report describes open source as part of how financial-services organizations build and consume software, collaborate across the sector, and develop technical capabilities. Its GitHub analysis found 9,354 identified financial-services users made 774,732 commits in the 2025 dataset. Among observed contribution languages, Python accounted for about 18%, Java 7%, and C# 3%.
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Those figures represent observed public activity, not all work done by financial-services developers. The analysis used a FINOS-provided list of email domains from more than 400 large financial-services institutions and other organizations known to be active or interested in open source. Company policies may lead developers to use personal accounts, so some organizational activity may not be attributed or visible in the dataset.
Does open source deliver business value?
In the 2025 FINOS survey, 93% of respondents said open source improves software quality, and 87% said it delivers business value. Those results describe respondents’ reported perceptions; they are not audited measures of sector-wide improvements or evidence that open source alone produced them.
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Eighteen percent of respondents said they were already realizing returns. This is reported ROI status, not a verified average saving or a result that applies to every organization. The report and its commentary also frame value in terms of speed, collaboration, and learning, which may be harder to reduce to a single financial measure.
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What challenges remain for banks?
Measuring the value of contributions
Organizations still face work in evaluating the return on open-source use and contributions. A useful measurement approach should distinguish direct financial returns from less immediate outcomes such as faster development, shared problem-solving, and learning, and should make clear which outcomes are observed rather than assumed.
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Managing software supply-chain security
Supply-chain security remains an area of ongoing work. Financial-services organizations need processes for assessing dependencies and responding to vulnerabilities as part of their broader software security practices; the report does not establish that open source is inherently more or less secure than other software.
Addressing intellectual-property concerns
Fear of intellectual-property leakage can hinder collaboration. Clear policies and approval paths help teams understand what they may contribute, how code is reviewed, and when legal or security teams need to be involved.
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What should organizations take from the findings?
The report points to organizational practices as a practical focus: governance, safe contribution, security, and credible measurement. Hilary Carter, Linux Foundation SVP of research, wrote in her 2025 commentary, “The ROI of open source isn’t only in dollars — it’s in speed, collaboration, and learning.” That perspective complements the survey’s reported business value, but does not replace the need for organizations to define and track outcomes relevant to their own goals.
Carter’s commentary says nearly half of surveyed firms and almost two-thirds of large financial institutions have an open-source program office (OSPO). These are figures attributed to her commentary about the survey, not independently audited counts. An OSPO can help coordinate policy and participation, but its presence alone does not demonstrate effective governance or measurable returns.
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How to read the report’s evidence
- Survey percentages: Results from 209 FINOS survey respondents in 2025. Use them to understand reported attitudes and status, not as universal claims about all banks.
- GitHub counts and language shares: Analysis of selected, publicly available activity identified through organization email domains. It does not capture every developer or private repository.
- Business outcomes: Quality, value, and ROI figures reflect respondent reports. They should not be presented as independently verified causal results.
The full report is available from Linux Foundation Research. The Linux Foundation also published Hilary Carter’s commentary on the 2025 findings.
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