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The Open Source Software Model and a Business Case for Open Source Software Implementation: Creating a Symbiotic Open Source Solution
Abstract
Open Source Software (OSS) was once purely the realm of geeks and techies. However, businesses depend daily on various Open Source-based technologies such as HTTP (Web) and SMTP (e-mail) to conduct transactions and maintain client contacts. Apache and sendmail (not to mention BIND, Linux, Perl, etc.) are the lifeblood of the Internet economy, yet programmers created this software without a traditional business software development model. Instead, it was developed, debugged, maintained, and distributed by volunteers. It’s only recently that companies, such as Red Hat, have formed to profit from OSS. It might stand to reason that businesses would also rely on OSS for their other needs, such as desktop applications, servers, and databases. However, in this arena businesses have long relied on commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS). Whether it’s Microsoft or mainframe systems, COTS still has a stronghold in the corporate environment. This trend is changing as more business and corporations are turning to OSS, such as Linux, to run servers. IBM is a long-time supporter of Linux on its architecture and Sun has recently joined in Linux support as well. Others have implemented Linux on the desktop. Red Hat Linux 8.x is specifically targeted for the desktop market. Initial news reports show that it’s being well received by desktop users.
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