Setting Up Shop: The Business of Open-Source Software
IEEE Software
The utility business model and the future of computing services
IBM Systems Journal
A history of IBM's open-source involvement and strategy
IBM Systems Journal
Organizational Transformation through Business Models: A Framework for Business Model Design
HICSS '06 Proceedings of the 39th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - Volume 08
IBM's pragmatic embrace of open source
Communications of the ACM
PROFES'11 Proceedings of the 12th international conference on Product-focused software process improvement
Hi-index | 0.00 |
Free / Libre open source software (FLOSS/OSS) has gained increasing popularity and utilisation in commercial and governmental organisations. Universities like Harvard and Stanford now offer courses on open source as a business and also on how businesses can compete with open source firms. However, very little research has been published in regards to the influence of OSS on business strategies; the use of OSS as a viable business or its value proposition within a commercial entity. The business model, a powerful tool for extracting economic value from the potential of technological innovation, clearly plays an important role in the success of a business. In this paper we investigate the role of open source in the business models of Red Hat and IBM and describe how OSS has contributed to their success. A framework recently developed by some of the authors is used to evaluate and identify the key factors important to the integration of OSS strategies into traditional business models.