The State of Open Con 2025, held in London on 4 to 5 February 2025, was a unique event with a laid-back atmosphere for both newcomers and veterans alike – the sticker collections, job board and beanie hats a welcoming touch.
With a jam-packed agenda that explored topics such as open source software, open data, open standards and, of course AI, the event showed how these rapidly evolving fields are reshaping industries, including financial services, where transparency, security and regulatory compliance are paramount.
The open source ecosystem
One of the key takeaways from the conference was the widespread adoption of open source technologies across different sectors. What was once the domain of independent developers and small startups is now integral to the infrastructure of large corporations, including those in financial services.
Data shared by Avi Press, founder of open source analytics company Scarf, illustrated the sheer scale of impact: 88 million unique sources of open source traffic across the globe, with 62 per cent of countries using open source technologies in the public sector. Notably, data from OpenUK shows 100 per cent of new companies under three years old in the UK are now relying on open source software, underscoring just how crucial these tools have become.
Amanda Brock, chair of OpenUK
For the financial industry, these figures are a clear signal that open source tools are no longer just niche solutions – they are core technologies becoming increasingly important in the areas of data analytics, security, and AI, all of which are foundational to the operational efficiency, security and regulatory compliance of financial institutions.
The event featured a number of high-profile speakers and panels across two days with the morning plenaries expertly ran by Amanda Brock, CEO of OpenUK. Key talking points included the maturity of open source, a critical need for maintainers, software relicensing and yes – lots of talk about ‘forking’, to a central body and standards that provide guidance on the definition and adoption of open source solutions, especially as larger enterprises become more involved.
This is particularly important in sectors such as finance, where proper guidance and frameworks are essential for navigating the challenges of integrating open source tools while ensuring compliance with industry regulations.
The growing corporate adoption of open source
The increasing involvement of major corporations in open source technologies built on this theme. Companies like ARM, Cisco, GitHub, Mozilla and Microsoft were key sponsors of the event, underscoring how deeply open source solutions are now embedded in the operations of large enterprises. The role of these organisations is pivotal in helping to scale open source tools and ensure they meet the complex demands of regulated industries.
The growing corporate involvement brings with it new challenges, particularly around sustainability, security and governance. Panellists discussed how open source projects are often expected to meet enterprise-level demands for features like quality assurance (QA) and security, without the corresponding resources to maintain these requirements.
As financial institutions increasingly rely on open source tools, this raises important questions about how to balance open source community values with enterprise demands. And who will pay for it?
In the discussion Old Meets New: The maintainer challenge in a new open source world of corporations and regulation, David Burns, chair of the W3C Browser Testing and Tools Working Group, discussed the challenges that open source projects face as they scale.
The panel highlighted the increasing corporate involvement, noting the growing tension between the needs of large enterprises and the community-driven model of open source projects. A growing challenge for many industries but especially financial services in particular, as it navigates a balance between meeting regulatory standards while ensuring the tools remain flexible and open to innovation.
Keeping financial services firmly in mind
Lee Fulmer, chair of the Open UK Finance Advisory Board and innovator behind the UK Faster Payments scheme, created a content track alongside co-chair Ann Schlemmer, CEO of Percona, around a vision of a more collaborative relationship between banks and the open source community.
Conversations looked at issues such as anti-money laundering (AML), where financial services can learn from the open source model’s focus on collective problem-solving and transparency. But he also highlighted a key issue – the need to create a culture that encourages greater corporate participation without undermining the grassroots ethos of open source development.
His key advice to the open source and greater tech community was to head to financially focused events, look closely at the agenda and find the person on the panel who is more tech leaning to work with them directly.
Speaking directly to The Fintech Times, he said: “Financial Services isn’t always set up for tech and you’ll need support on the inside.” Suggesting that in this collaborative environment the open source community can learn from banking’s business acumen, regulatory compliance, and practical application of technology to solve real-world problems in the financial services industry.
Reliance on open source
Whereas Elspeth Minty, managing director at RBC Capital Markets, highlighted the challenges facing the financial services sector who rely on open source. “There’s a lot of helpful documentation available in open source,” she said, “but many financial services depend on critical parts of the open source world that are maintained by individuals or small groups”.
When these contributors reach a point of pause or leave the project, this can often be where problems occur. As the majority of open source projects are developed by individuals or small teams, maintenance and developments can cause significant bottlenecks. Her point was clear: for open source to truly be sustainable, more corporate entities need to contribute to the maintenance of key projects.
Public sector opportunities
Lord Wei, House of Lords
While much of the event focused on business and technical aspects of open source adoption, government perspectives were also central to the discussions as one of the key areas of opportunity. Lord Nat Wei, a technologist, inventor, and legislator in the UK’s House of Lords, outlined how open source is shifting governance in the UK.
He made the case that governments need to move away from traditional, trust-based models toward more open, transparent, and adaptive systems. This shift in government operations is key for financial services experts to understand, as it signals a broader, open source-centric approach to regulation and public policy that will have significant implications for the finance sector.
Emily Middleton, director general for Digital Centre Design at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), discussed how open source technologies are already benefiting the public sector. Caddy, an AI-powered assistant developed in collaboration with Citizens Advice to improve access to public services, showcases the use of open source solutions to streamline government processes and enhance their accessibility and efficiency for citizens.
Middleton’s talk underscored how the open source community is helping shape the future of public sector services, and how these advancements are paving the way for government integration of open source technologies across various services. For financial services, these developments indicate the growing potential for open source tools to play a role in government regulation and compliance frameworks, especially as more governments look to integrate AI, data transparency, and open standards into public services.
AI openness: a critical focus for financial services
Day two of the event focused its agenda largely on AI with a focus on the upcoming Paris Open Source AI Summit before diving into panels and workshops on AI copyright, building AI platforms together and how to leverage such tools in enterprise.
With financial institutions relying more heavily on AI models for everything from risk management to automated trading, ensuring these models are built on open source foundations potentially helps mitigate some of the risks associated with bias, opacity, and unaccountable decision-making. The shift toward open source AI offers a critical opportunity for financial institutions to enhance security, compliance, and innovation at the same time.
But as corporations, governments, and open source communities continue to work together, financial services professionals have an opportunity to leverage open source tools to enhance their ability to meet regulatory demands, drive innovation, and build trust with customers.
Luis Villa, general counsel for Tidelift, delivered a powerful keynote comparing the evolution of open source software to the early days of aviation.
Just as aviation technology has evolved from the days of simple, fabric-covered planes to complex systems capable of reaching the moon, Villa – whose grandfather worked on the Apollo 11 mission that put humans on the moon, argued that open source software is now entering its own ‘mature phase’. He stressed that while open source has grown increasingly complex, it has also become a central pillar of modern technological infrastructure, particularly in AI and machine learning.
Crossroads
Villa’s call for continued collaboration and adaptation resonated deeply with attendees. The open source community is at a crossroads, much like the aviation industry was decades ago. As AI technologies become more deeply integrated into society, ensuring that they remain open, transparent and accessible will be one of the most critical challenges for the tech industry. Protecting and enhancing the intellectual property that is the foundation of open source is another.
What the State of Open Con 25 highlighted for the finance sector was that the open source movement is not just about adopting new technologies it’s about creating a more transparent, efficient and collaborative future as a whole – and that includes financial services.
The post The Future is Open: Financial Services Insight from the State of Open Con 2025 appeared first on The Fintech Times.
