Linux Foundation Survey: 58% Cite Security Vulnerabilities as Top Data Infrastructure Risk; OpenSearch Production Usage Hits 36%
A new Linux Foundation survey reveals security concerns now rival cost in data platform decisions, while OpenSearch's enterprise adoption has doubled since 2024.
The Linux Foundation published its 2026 Open Data Infrastructure Survey results in October 2026. The study, based on responses from 294 participants across various industries and organizations, found that 58% of respondents identified "security vulnerability risks in data infrastructure" as their primary concern, surpassing regulatory compliance and data exposure risks (both at 33%). When evaluating data platforms, 79% considered security and compliance very important, a figure closely matching the 80% who prioritized Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), indicating that security considerations have become as critical as cost control.
The survey also tracked the adoption of OpenSearch, an open-source search and analytics platform managed by the OpenSearch Software Foundation under the Linux Foundation umbrella. Awareness of OpenSearch rose from 68% in 2024 to 89% in 2026. More significantly, the proportion of respondents using OpenSearch in production environments doubled from 19% in 2024 to 36% in 2026. Among the 128 current users, 83% utilize the platform for log analysis and observability tasks, while 52% employ it for security analytics, including threat detection and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM).