Case Study: SITA achieves open source governance and faster time-to-market with Black Duck Suite

Sita Builds Path to Success with open source Software Strategy

SITA, the world’s leading specialist in air transport communications and IT, manages hundreds of global software projects that support everything from passenger data to air traffic control. Facing a mixed-IP code base of internal, outsourced, proprietary and open source components, SITA needed to know how much open source software (OSS) was in use and the licensing details to improve IP management and enable safe reuse.

After evaluating tools, SITA implemented the Black Duck Suite (Protex scanning and Code Center) and ran a six-month pilot across 25 projects. The scans revealed 21% OSS (mostly permissive licenses), enabled a clean bill of materials and drove a company-wide open source governance program that preapproves OSS, tracks usage and vulnerabilities, and speeds development. As a result, SITA improved license compliance, reduced risk and costs, and increased time-to-market and innovation—supporting strategic initiatives like the Horizon passenger-management program.

SITA

Patrick Holden

Senior Programme Manager, Software Development