Category Archives: Open Source

Open Commons Region Linz is Starting

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The region of and around Linz, Austria, has declared itself the Open Commons Region Linz. The opening festivities, including talks, free-of-charge, will take place on April 11th, 2011, in Linz (naturally). Read more about it on the blog of the Open Commons Region Linz! I’m a member of the academic advisory council of the Open Commons Region Linz and applaud and support the effort. I’m also happy to say that it will me bring to Linz in person once in a while.

More Upcoming Talks: Open Source Research

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I’ll be presenting the Open Source Research talk repeatedly over the next few months. The next three instances are in China, specifically:

  • Tsinghua University on March 17th, 2011
  • Peking University on March 18th, 2011
  • University of Macau on April 1st, 2011

After that it’s back to Germany.

Call for Papers: OSS 2011, the 7th International Conference on Open Source Systems

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  • Paper submission deadline: April 8, 2011
  • Conference location: Salvador, BA, Brazil
  • Conference dates: 6-7 October 2011
  • Conference website: OSS 2011

Conference Theme

Over the past decade, the Open Source Software (OSS) phenomenon has had a global impact on the way organisations and individuals create, distribute, acquire and use software and software-based services. OSS has challenged the conventional wisdom of the software engineering and software business communities, has been instrumental for educators and researchers, and has become an important aspect of e-government and information society initiatives. OSS is a complex phenomenon and requires a interdisciplinary understanding of its engineering, technical, economic, legal and socio-cultural dynamics.

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Call for Papers: WikiSym 2011, the 7th International Symposium on Wikis and Open Collaboration

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The 7th International Symposium on Wikis and Open Collaboration

October 3-5, 2011 | Mountain View, California

The International Symposium on Wikis and Open Collaboration (WikiSym) is the premier conference on open collaboration and related technologies. In 2011, WikiSym celebrates its 7th year of scholarly, technical and community innovation in Mountain View, California at the Microsoft Research Campus in Silicon Valley.

Submissions are invited for the following categories:

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The Single-Vendor Commercial Open Source Business Model

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Update 2012-01-28: Springer changed the citation. The reference below reflects this.

Springer just republished our 2009 article on how vendor-owned open source works, again. Here is the abstract:

Abstract: Single-vendor commercial open source software projects are open source software projects that are owned by a single firm that derives a direct and significant revenue stream from the software. Single-vendor commercial open source at first glance represents an economic paradox: How can a firm earn money if it is making its product available for free as open source? This paper presents the core properties of single-vendor open source business models and discusses how they work. Using a single-vendor open source approach, firms can get to market faster with a superior product at lower cost than possible for traditional competitors. The paper shows how these benefits accrue from an engaged and self-supporting user community. Lacking any prior comprehensive reference, this paper is based on an analysis of public statements by practitioners of single-vendor open source. It forges the various anecdotes into a coherent description of revenue generation strategies and relevant business functions.

Reference: Dirk Riehle. “The Single-Vendor Commercial Open Source Business Model.” Information Systems and e-Business Management vol. 10, no. 1. Springer Verlag, 2012. Page 5-17.

You can read it online, download a PDF, or use the Springer site.

Das AMOS Projektkonzept (2011)

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NACHHALTIGE PROJEKTE ZUM LERNEN UND AUSGRÜNDEN

Dieser Artikel stellt das AMOS Projektkonzept vor, welches ich in der Informatik-Lehre an der Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg einsetze. Ziel des AMOS Projekts ist es, Studierenden professionelle Softwareentwicklung in einem konkreten Projekt zu vermitteln, welches idealerweise zu einer Startup durch die am Ende ihres Studiums befindlichen Studierenden führt.

Das AMOS Projekt ist für mich eine neue Erfindung: Ich habe es das erste Mal 2010 so abgehalten. Deswegen dient dieser Artikel nicht nur der Schilderung des Projektkonzepts, sondern sollte auch als Aufforderung zum Kommentieren gelesen werden. Ich vermute, dass es anderswo in ähnlicher Form betrieben wird und würde gern von den dortigen Erfahrungen lernen.

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Control Points and Steering Mechanisms in Open Source Software Projects

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Following up on my Lisog talk earlier this month, I was asked to write up the talk’s content. So here we go, my analysis of what commercial open source firms do to manage or steer open source projects they depend on.

Abstract: Most commercial software today depends on open source software. The commercial software might be using an underlying open source platform, or it might be incorporating open source components, or it might be provided as a commercial open source product itself. Whichever the case, the software firm behind the commercial software needs to ensure that its interests are met by the open source software projects it depends on. This article shows how commercial software firms manage or steer open source software projects to meet their business needs.

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Upcoming Talk: Steering and Control Mechanisms in Open Source Software Projects (in German)

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Next week, on Nov 11, 2011, I’ll give the keynote talk (in German) at the annual Lisog gathering. Lisog is a non-profit organization working to create a sustainable co-existence of open and closed source software.

Title: Steering and Control Mechanisms in Open Source Software Projects

Abstract: Open source has become commercial. With commercial interests, it has become important to understand how for-profit entities steer or control projects in support of their business model. First, this talk describes the main points of control in open source software projects. Next, it describes patterns of combining and utilizing these points of control for the economic benefit of those who control them. This talk will distinguish the use of control points by single-vendor-owned vs. community open source as well as traditionally delivered vs. cloud computing business models.

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Revamping German Copyright Law #EIDG

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The German Enquete commission “Internet and Digital Society” is a multilateral commission instituted by the German parliament to discuss and make recommendations on, well, Internet and digital society. I’m a member of an expert advisory council for one of the parties involved in the commission. I received the following catalog of questions and thought I’d share the questions here and maybe we can have a good discussion. For international readers, it may be helpful to read Wikipedia on German copyright law. So, here are the questions.

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