Acquia, the commercial open source company founded by Drupal creator, Dries Buytaert, recently released a white paper, TCO for Open Source Social Publishing, that looks at the “total cost of ownership” for open source social publishing. Reading through the paper, I can’t help but think about how much open source has matured as a viable business model.
One of the more traditional arguments in favour of using open source technologies is the absence of license fees and hence a better “cost alternative”. Not surprisingly, the Acquia white paper presents this case. The paper also goes one step further in concluding that open source also presents an innovation alternative that proprietary software can’t keep up with. It’s hard to argue with the case they present, but then again, me reading this paper is them preaching to the choir.
What’s particularly exciting, though, is the new set of business models that this paper touches on – new businesses that have emerged as a result of the success of open source projects.
Acquia: the Commercial Open Source Company for Drupal
Take Acquia as an example, defining itself as a commercial open source company. While the core software, Drupal, continues to be developed by hundreds of developers around the world, the technology’s founder is successfully creating a commercially viable business that delivers product development, hard infrastructure, as well as service support.
Automattic: Founded by the Founder of WordPress
WordPress, another popular open source platform today, has Automattic, which was similarly founded by the founder of the software, Matt Mullenweg. Along with running their flagship property, WordPress.com, Automattic also provides hosting infrastructure, along with core development, and a premiere service for large enterprises known as VIP Support (among other projects and services).
Proof of Market Demand for Open Source Business
Both companies are not only recognizing the need for providing the full stack of services – core development, hosting infrastructure, and community support – but they are both also providing end-to-end solutions for digital publishers of every size all the way from the largest online publishers down through to digital agencies, freelancers, and all the way through to individual end-users.
This is business innovation taking place at the top of the chain by the founders. In both cases, it’s a good sign for the health of the actual technologies they are each creating, and what’s more, it’s proof of market demand for a new type of business that has emerged in a few short years.
The opportunity that this presents is a little mind boggling – but it’s also what makes it an exciting time to be working in the industry.
Open Source Matures as a Viable Business
Acquia, the commercial open source company founded by Drupal creator, Dries Buytaert, recently released a white paper, TCO for Open Source Social Publishing, that looks at the “total cost of ownership” for open source social publishing. Reading through the paper, I can’t help but think about how much open source has matured as a viable business model.
One of the more traditional arguments in favour of using open source technologies is the absence of license fees and hence a better “cost alternative”. Not surprisingly, the Acquia white paper presents this case. The paper also goes one step further in concluding that open source also presents an innovation alternative that proprietary software can’t keep up with. It’s hard to argue with the case they present, but then again, me reading this paper is them preaching to the choir.
What’s particularly exciting, though, is the new set of business models that this paper touches on – new businesses that have emerged as a result of the success of open source projects.
Acquia: the Commercial Open Source Company for Drupal
Take Acquia as an example, defining itself as a commercial open source company. While the core software, Drupal, continues to be developed by hundreds of developers around the world, the technology’s founder is successfully creating a commercially viable business that delivers product development, hard infrastructure, as well as service support.
Automattic: Founded by the Founder of WordPress
WordPress, another popular open source platform today, has Automattic, which was similarly founded by the founder of the software, Matt Mullenweg. Along with running their flagship property, WordPress.com, Automattic also provides hosting infrastructure, along with core development, and a premiere service for large enterprises known as VIP Support (among other projects and services).
Proof of Market Demand for Open Source Business
Both companies are not only recognizing the need for providing the full stack of services – core development, hosting infrastructure, and community support – but they are both also providing end-to-end solutions for digital publishers of every size all the way from the largest online publishers down through to digital agencies, freelancers, and all the way through to individual end-users.
This is business innovation taking place at the top of the chain by the founders. In both cases, it’s a good sign for the health of the actual technologies they are each creating, and what’s more, it’s proof of market demand for a new type of business that has emerged in a few short years.
The opportunity that this presents is a little mind boggling – but it’s also what makes it an exciting time to be working in the industry.