Section 5.9. The Future of Software


5.9. The Future of Software

Open source has transformed the way that software is produced. Now, with dual licensing, open source is changing the way that proprietary software is distributed.

Dual licensing will never replace either pure proprietary or pure open source strategies. There are compelling reasons for both to exist.

Purely proprietary distribution allows companies to invest significantly in new development and to be rewarded for that investment. Particularly at the edge of information technology, where the newest products and services are built, businesses will use proprietary licensing to protect their competitive position and to extract maximum value from their efforts.

Purely open source development and distribution, on the other hand, reduces costs of core infrastructure for consumers, and powerful market forces encourage investment in that cost reduction. Open source has been most successful in those sectors of the market where technology is mature and stableoperating systems, databases, web servers, and middleware. This is not to say that open source development is not innovative, but its impact has been largest in the cases where it has commoditized products in mature markets.

The net effect of open source distribution, from the point of view of the consumer, is to reduce the total cost of software licensing. Dual licensing does nothing to reverse this trend; dual-licensed software will exert downward price pressure on established markets just as purely open source software does, though the net reduction in costs will be lower since some consumers continue to pay for software licenses.

Dual licensing will continue to grow in popularity as new and established businesses apply the strategy to new opportunities. Competitive pressure ensures that businesses will look for ways to gain advantages over one another, and building a hybrid business offers advantages in many cases. Other novel hybrid strategies will, no doubt, appear in the future.



Open Sources 2.0
Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution
ISBN: 0596008023
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 217

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