The industry trades are rife with discussion of Open Source business models. The debate rages on about whether they are valid and sustainable or whether there are self-cannibalizing and doomed to failure. But to me, the vast majority of this debate misses the key point by focusing on only two valid open source business models, to-wit support and dual licensing schemes. The most significant impact of Open Source is rarely discussed.
Open Source, open architecture, open systems, open standards. OSS, FOSS, FLOSS -- free free FREE! If there's anything to Gartner's infamous hype cycle, Open source must fast be approaching some sort of critical zenith. But, as a non-technologist friend of mine stated the other day with just a hint of exasperation: "It's all just software, isn't it?"
ABC News calls them the People of the Year and, according to the statistics, a new one appears every seven and a half seconds. Who are they? They are The Bloggers. 2004 was the year blogging went mainstream. You mean you don't have a blog? How is that possible...?
I will be the first to admit that I find the blogging phenomenon a bit hard to fathom. Face it: This is diary writing with a spin. It is electronic journal keeping with marketing hype.
More than half of the large firms in North America are employing Open Source software in some fashion, and another 19% are planning to use it by years' end, according to Forrester Research. In a new report, entitled "How Firms Should Work With the Open Source Ecosystem", Forrester Research outlines the history and drivers behind the trend and looks forward to the development of what they label the "Open Source Ecosystem."
