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It wasn't long ago that the phrase "open source" rather snidely referred to a kind of software developed by quirky idealistic computer geeks. After all, who else would collaborate for free on creating code to be shared by anyone for any purpose, with the anticipation that the participants would improve upon it for the betterment of the community?
OSS makes available software code that has traditionally been considered proprietary. With the source code at their fingertips, developers can more quickly improve on the software and create new applications. As OSS has matured, the economy has softened and organizations have begun scouting around for a better way to operate their businesses. The result has been a shift to a new business model.
Other than Walmart's $299 Linux-based PC, there is little talk about open source for consumer consumption. But open source has secured a place among enterprises, the most high-profile examples being the Linux and Apache operating systems. Market research firm IDC expects spending on Linux operating environments to increase over the next five years from $80 million in 2001 to $280 million in 2006. Paint maker Sherwin-Williams last May announced that it was installing the Linux operating system in its 2,500 stores. Meanwhile, CS First Boston has converted its trading system to Linux, and IBM notes that more than 4,600 of its customers are running Linux. As for Apache, which was first written in 1995, it now is running on about 22 million Web servers. That's nearly 60 percent of the total number of servers on the Internet, according to tracking firm Netcraft.
It doesn't hurt that mature companies like IBM, Sun Microsystems, HP and others have adopted open source as part of their business model. It also helps that companies like Red Hat and Covalent have figured out, where others couldn't, how to create a sustainable business to compete against the big Kahuna of software, Microsoft.
Why Open Source?
In 1992, about 1,000 people around the world were using Linux. This year, A.D.H. Brown Associates estimates that 20 million people are using it, primarily on corporate networks. According to a Morgan Stanley survey of chief information officers, 29 percent of companies now use Linux servers and another 17 percent are considering purchasing them. It's...