Big news hit yesterday evening.
It’s way too early to tell what this means for open source communities or bigger technology landscape. Or me personally, for that matter.
But one thing I wanted to point out is impact on open source economics. While open source software became backbone of Internet and allowed a lot of companies to exist and grow, it has been ridiculously hard to monetize. Red Hat, the biggest open source company in terms of revenue and number of employees, growing like crazy from quarter to quarter, shows that it is possible to create successful and viable business around open source software, principles and values. It is both poster child and role model for many people who dream about earning a living by creating open source software.
For me, acquisition of Red Hat is testament that it was not viable long-term business strategy after all.
It’s interesting to see what paths discussion about economics of open source software will take now. I believe we need solutions more than ever before.
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