Forrester Research analyst Jeffrey Hammond speaks at LinuxCon

Open source continues finding favor in both large enterprises and small companies. But while the nature and types of deployments may vary wildly, many have at least one thing in common: The bottom line.

Cost savings from Linux and open source has long been a key selling point of the movement. But according to a panel of enterprise users and analysts speaking at the LinuxCon conference, it's a consideration that spans the gamut from massive, multimillion-dollar implementations to far smaller organizations.

By almost any estimate, interest in open source is at an all-time high. Forrester Research analyst Jeffrey Hammond told the audience that over the last twelve months, senior executives from all types of businesses have been asking him about open source.

He also pointed to a recent Forrester survey that asked respondents to rank their software plans, and which found open source topping the list.