OSBC notes: Monetizing open source with Rob Bearden (Benchmark)
The way in which you structure your open source product offering is key to how you monetize.
I'm trying to liveblog Rob Bearden's talk here at OSBC but the conference room is so hot that I have to bail out. It's like a sauna in here.
Rob Bearden on Open Source Business ModelsThe ultimate objective of an open source company is to be able to monetize. You want to be the "enterprise standard" in order to assure your place within an organizations infrastructure.
In order to achieve this you need developer awareness and the ability for developers to be able to try the software. Without this developers will not be comfortable with the product they have adopted.
Without forming a community and solidifying the community upfront you will have a very hard time getting large scale adoption. Successful companies have hit a critical mass of enterprises being comfortable with the technology.
The traditional model of open source is commoditization. This can be measured on an S-curve of adoption and completeness of solution. How close to parity does a product need to be in order to be viably considered?
Once you hit a critical mass point with the community then you reach the pragmatists. There is a minimum set of needs for sustainability, all of which help to reach this stability which leads to monetization.
That's all I got for now. I am going to get a drink before I pass out.