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Is you software suitable?
IMO software with a high IP value doesn't lend itself well to open source given
everyone has access to the algorithms. However most commercial software's value
isn't in the IP, it's in its utility and the effort required to market, deploy and
support it.

Significant expense can be saved developing/supporting applications built on
open source foundations (e.g. eclipse, Linux, Apache, etc) because these
communities are far larger than your development team. Apache, for example, has
thousands of developers working on their projects many paid for by large
corporations. Companies do this because the value they get back is far greater
than the cost to them (as others are contributing).

Additional savings can be made in marketing and support if the software can
create a viable community. The development of a community around your
software is key to becoming a viable open source project.

You said in your post that your target market is fortune 1,000 companies. It's
unlikely that these companies will deploy your software without a maintenance
subscription even if a free version was offered. However a free version might open
additional opportunities and could provide valuable feedback for your future
development. Localisation is one area where communities are often very active.

Open sourcing an application destroys it's exclusive IP value, however this is
usually a small contributor to profitable commercial software (just look at
windows). Ask yourself if you can develop a community around your project and at
what risk you are of your existing customers deploying your application without
paying for support.
Posted by: Richard Flude   Posted on: 01/15/07 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
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I hope Arras makes it  nucrash | 01/15/07
It would be nice if they would move to Linux/PostgreSQL though. I would not  DonnieBoy | 01/15/07
Since it's open souce...  BregS | 01/15/07
Personally, I don't have a use for this softwre, but, someone might. Though  DonnieBoy | 01/15/07
if you don't have use of it, why...  BregS | 01/16/07
I imagine there are better projects out there that will also run on Linux.  DonnieBoy | 01/16/07
Open source is the superior model  Chad_z | 01/15/07
Just to understand your point,  BregS | 01/15/07
OSS is good in many markets  Boot_Agnostic | 01/15/07
Yes, customers will pay for open source, and they like the guarantees it  DonnieBoy | 01/15/07
Very few I have seen.  No_Ax_to_Grind | 01/15/07
So, how do you explain all of the revenue for RedHat, MySQL, SleepyCat, etc  DonnieBoy | 01/15/07
But none of them  BregS | 01/15/07
RedHat and MySQL are making good money. RedHat in particular has been on a  DonnieBoy | 01/15/07
Same can be said for closed source companies  Richard Flude | 01/15/07
spoken like a true zealot  mdsmedia | 01/16/07
Sorry, not any developers I know.  No_Ax_to_Grind | 01/15/07
Obviously you are an unbiased sample representative of our population (nt)  CobraA1 | 01/15/07
There are a lot of very sustainable open source business models out there.  DonnieBoy | 01/15/07
Please name a few models  oldsysprog | 01/16/07
It really does not matter how or where the money comes from to pay the  DonnieBoy | 01/16/07
What are you afraid of No_Ax?  mdsmedia | 01/16/07
Got to be a good thing  Richard Flude | 01/15/07
Waht about low cost software?  BregS | 01/15/07
Not every case is the same. In your case, you might be able to keep part of  DonnieBoy | 01/15/07
You defined open source...  Anton Philidor | 01/16/07
The average Linux programmer makes a lot more thant the average Windows  DonnieBoy | 01/16/07
Unfortunately,  BregS | 01/16/07
You might be able to open source base functionality, but charge for  DonnieBoy | 01/16/07
Is you software suitable?  Richard Flude | 01/15/07
Just tell me how to...  BregS | 01/15/07
Did you ever consider that if it was open source, you might be able to do  DonnieBoy | 01/15/07
is it a joke?  BregS | 01/16/07
Business models? Which one?  BregS | 01/15/07
Have you ever heard of RedHat and MySQL??? They are both  DonnieBoy | 01/15/07
and what do they got?  BregS | 01/16/07
So are you denying that RedHat and MySQL make good money????  DonnieBoy | 01/16/07
without knowing your software...  mdsmedia | 01/16/07
Please be nice...  BregS | 01/16/07
The important points are in the last paragraphs.  Anton Philidor | 01/16/07
Unfortunately...  BregS | 01/16/07
Make a company to provide same service  Boot_Agnostic | 01/16/07
This is not only unethical...  BregS | 01/16/07

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