At LinuxWorld Expo in San Francisco, it occurred to me that I had overlooked
a very important Open Source business model, the Membership Model. Confronted
by a keynote speech by Stuart Cohen, the leader of the Open Source
Development Lab (OSDL) (www.osdl.org), it became clear that I had jumped into
the Advertising and Conversion Models too quickly and had to back up and deal
with the membership phenomenon.
As a businessman, the Advertising and Conversion Models are more interesting,
but from a raw power standpoint the Membership Model may be more important.
So in the spirit of journalistic integrity, I have adjusted the Open Source
Business Models graphic to correct this erratum.
Open Source Business Models
Donation Membership Advertising Conversion
- Brand Ownership
- M... (more)
I've always wondered where the word "oxymoron" came from. What does "oxy"
have to do with "moron"? What about the words "commercial" and "open source";
do these words form an oxymoron when combined in one phrase?
The open source-based CRM software maker, SugarCRM, has successfully combined
these polar opposites and implemented such a "commercial open source"
business model. SugarCRM has t... (more)
A rollercoaster - as trite as that image may be - is the right analogy for
venture capital investing in open source companies. And what a long, strange
trip it's been.
Starting in the mid '90s, a few brave pioneers like Benchmark invested in an
open alternative to proprietary software and made a fortune. By the end of
the decade, everyone wanted a piece of the action. A second wave of VCs... (more)
The open source movement is something completely new. It doesn't fit neatly
into any accepted economic or business theory. For that reason a lot of
traditional thinkers, e.g., economists, business people, and investors, are
struggling to figure out what it means. Is it the beginning of a new economic
order or is it a flash in the pan?
The idea that 400,000 software programmers around the ... (more)
In the beginning, the 800-pound gorilla of online industry was Prodigy, Inc.
This joint venture between IBM and Sears Roebuck boasted 2.5 million
subscribers in 1993, the year before Netscape broke open the Internet.
From the very beginning Prodigy was out-marketed by AOL. AOL boasted a number
of important unique selling propositions (USPs) like personalized user IDs,
chat, and a slicker... (more)
Paul L. Sterne is general manager, Americas, Open-Xchange Inc. (www.open-xchange.com), and managing partner, Sterne & Co. LLC, an M&A boutique specializing in technology deals. His most recent transaction: the acquisition of Protocom Development Ltd. by ActivCard Inc. He is a sponsor of openResource, a wiki about the Open Source industry (http://sterneco.editme.com/home).
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