Software Research and the Industry
Open source, building products, software startups, and industry strategy by Prof. Dr. Dirk Riehle
Is DNA recombination your inspiration for a new programming language? Or do you simply think it is time to improve generics in Java?
Do you think that we need new paradigms for bringing programming to the masses in Second Life and on Wikipedia? That we need new and significantly more robust systems than before that can function autonomously, perhaps inspired by biological metaphors?
Title: How to Benefit from Open Source
Presenter: Dirk Riehle
Institution: SAP Research, SAP Labs LLC
Abstract: Open source is changing the game of how software is built and how money is made. This talk analyzes the economics of open source software from three main perspectives: The system integrator perspective, the start-up firm perspective, and the individual software developer perspective. A focus is on the distinction between community open source and commercial open source, and how the different stakeholders use different approaches to win in the market, e.g. to gain market share or to keep a job. The dual-license strategy is explained as well as why committers to important open source software projects can expect a higher salary. The talk shows how every stakeholder can benefit and thereby explains why open source is here to stay.
Event/location: Software Engineering Today 2008 (SET 2008) in Zurich, May 6-7th 2008