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Does open-source software do more to hurt the industry or help? You might guess the latter: We certainly did. But as it turns out, open-source software can actually be the bane of smaller software developers. After all, what does one do when one's primary meal-ticket gets taken over by the open-source community? For most developers, that's a lights-out proposition. But is this a reflection of where software development is expected to head in the future? Will it be a free for all?
This concept all came about as I was searching through my usual RSS feeds of open source news and tidbits. Over on a Slashdot developer forum, a reader posted the following situation:
"My company is an open source software vendor/developer. We maintain a popular open source project and keep ourselves afloat by producing commercial products derived from or extending the value of the core project. Over time we've seen our business model eroding as other open source projects produce free versions of the same extensions and utilities that are our bread and butter. Something that was worth $5K last year is suddenly worth $0 because the free version is just as good as the paid. This same cycle is obviously having an impact on pure-play commercial software vendors. Is open source ultimately a race to zero?"
It's a curious entanglement, one that hits at the very core of the commercial open source marketplace. But it's not universal. Do you think Microsoft is hurting from the development of Open Office (or on a non-open-source note, Google Docs)? Doubtful. But that depends on the nature of its users. At the company I work for, we tend to see out-of-the-box software as the de-facto solution merely because it's easy to implement and comes with a general level of assurance that it'll work exactly the way you want it to. Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of PhotoShop on my PC. And I've switched between a number of open-source alternatives just to find one that's ideal for the quick edits I work with. Would I use PhotoShop before one of these programs, even given its increased cost and feature-set? In a heartbeat.
I realize this isn't universal -- some companies thrive on the use of open-source software, a concept I've discussed in previous articles. But I still remain unconvinced that open-source, as a whole, is bumping commercial software out of the market. Nor do I think that, in the case of the above user, there's no reason why a company can't compete against a free version of its own product. On the product level, it's a question of interface: Give your users a flexible way of working with your program that's easy to operate and, perhaps more importantly, easy to learn. I don't care how much a program offers if the UI is too clunky to work around. Beyond that, there are all the revenue generation approaches that other open-source companies have mastered: Different licensing tiers for applications, paid support, features above-and-beyond the common OSS offering, et cetera. This is perhaps said best by one of the replies to the situation I posted above:
"I can say this is the model that directly affects us. I work for a large US corporate who sells enterprise software to governments and similar. We've been beaten in bids by our #1 competitor for a while, it turns out they are offering the software for free, as long as the buyer takes on a services contract (think outsourced IT type thing) that would support the software and hardware required to run it."
But to suggest that the software market as a whole is headed toward a $0 solution is erroneous. Open source is an alternative, it's not a dominant force. While the general trend of software is toward a free end, in the sense that more and more types of software eventually reach a zero price, that doesn't mean that there won't be plenty of alternatives on the other side of the spectrum that use new feature and compatibilities to warrant a fee. And people will buy these solutions, rather than download a crappy new version in the open-source market. Of course, that all depends on what market you're talking about -- consumers act a lot differently than enterprise customers. Or do they?
Links:
[1] http://www.maximumpc.com/user/themurph
[2] http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/11/23/1447251
[3] http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/can_opensource_software_survive_a_recession
[4] http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/opensource_or_freeware_you_decide
[5] http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/keepin_productive_freeware_way
[6] http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/can_opensource_software_help_a_recession
[7] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/closed_source
[8] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/cost
[9] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/future
[10] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/software
[11] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/software_development
[12] http://www.maximumpc.com/articles/columns
[13] http://www.maximumpc.com/articles/web_exclusive
[14] http://www.maximumpc.com/user/login?&commentfragment=comments_top_anchor