An increase in the use of hosted applications such as webmail and Google Apps is driving the adoption of open source software behind the scenes.

Dr Malcolm Newdick, managing director at IT management and support firm Riverbank, told the Westminster eForum that many smaller companies and users either do not care, or are still very wary, about open source software.

"Ignorance is the primary reason, as well as inertia, concerns around interoperability and the 'you get what pay for' mentality that inherently distrusts anything that is free," he said.

But Newdick pointed out that these users may be surprised to learn that they are helping to drive and develop the open source community by using hosted applications over the internet.

Such applications are becoming increasingly popular among companies and individuals as they are usually free to use and provide a consistent interface regardless of location and the device being used.

Paul Adams, chairman of the open source specialist group at the British Computer Society, said that questioning whether open source is a viable option is now "a moot point" because open source is the "backbone of the internet".

Many of the most well known names on the internet, such as Google and Amazon, run entirely on open source software.

Dr Glyn Moody, a technology writer, added that open source is not just a technological shift, but that its ideals and methodologies have created a profound shift in collaboration among people.

"Open source is not about software, it is about people," he said. "It is absolutely central to how people and government will function in the 21st century."

However, Newdick believes that there is "no impending open source revolution ", and that the majority of customers are satisfied with the offerings from software developers such as Microsoft.

The costs involved in using proprietary software are seen as comparable to those required to train staff, migrate and support open source software.

Newdick concluded that open source vendors need to bear in mind that most companies take a purely pragmatic approach to their choice of software.

His experience is that their choice is not based on social or developmental ideals, but on what software can do the job best, for the least amount of money, and with the greatest security.