Born free... still free


This recent article of the Economist analyse the success of the opensource software in this downturn economic period. Not a so original topic for the ones that work in the opensource field but when the analysis come from the Economist could be definitely worthwhile to invest a couple of minute to read it. Two intersting points emerge from the article in my opinion:

• the interst in opensource software is moving up the stack, from middleware to end-user applications (expecially groupware and BI applications as reported in a forrester survay - see previous post)
  
  
• Open-source firms themselves have also become increasingly pragmatic and less distinctive. A popular approach is to sell proprietary extensions to an open-source core (open-core business model). The support model have failed. It has been unable to generate in the past years the returns expected by venture capitalists, who invested more than $3 billion in 163 open-source firms between 1997 and 2008
  

Here I just want to add my two cents on this analysis...
About point one nothing to say. I just hope that the trend will be confirmed in the next couple of year. About point two I agree that the support model alone is not susteinable in the long term but in my opinion aside teh open-core model (i.e. the core is open and free for all the rest you have to pay) exists also another business model that have proven to be solid and susteinable in these years: the project centric model. This business model is based on selling projects to customers not software licences. So opensource is important because cutting of licences' cost allow to incrase the revenue in project selling. This is the business model behinde opensource adoption in most of the greatest solution provider and consultancy firms around the world like IBM or SUN for example. SpagoWorld's projects, backed by Engineering Group (one of the greatest system integrator and solution provider in Italy), are driven by this business model too. Project centered business model, differently from open-core business model, ensures that projects are not only born free but also will remain free.