There are not many examples of Open source in the B2B integration space. Many corporate end-users and service providers are running B2B platforms on open source software such as Apache’s web server, Sun’s MySQL database or the various distributions of the Linux operating system. But very few vendors have introduced open source models for their communications, translator or integration broker software. Is this just an oversight by the vendor community or is there no value to be gained from open source in B2B?
Can B2B Vendors See Beyond License Revenues?
Perhaps, the highest profile example of open source in the B2B sector was the integration software vendor SeeBeyond. SeeBeyond had one of the most competitive B2B integration broker suites on the marketplace prior to its acquisition by Sun Microsystems in March 2005. Sun’s strategy was to license SeeBeyond as an open-source product to drive adoption. However, following the acquisition the sun appeared to set on SeeBeyond as it enjoyed considerably less visibility in the market. The future for SeeBeyond is not bright with Sun’s pending acquisition by Oracle. Having recently acquired BEA, Oracle already boasts a strong portfolio of integration products in its Fusion suite.
The best successful example of open source in the integration market is Talend. Talend is a leading developer of Integration and Extraction, Translation and Loading (ETL) software. Talend has an open source version of its products, which it makes available to the developer community through a GPL license. However, Talend’s own R&D team drives the product development roadmap. Revenue is generated through primarily through services to support its integration products – consulting, training and technical support. Talend also has introduced an On Demand version of the product, which they will host and operate on a subscription basis.
Open Source Does Not Mean Free
One of the key barriers to adoption of open source in the vendor community is that it is often associated with “free.” But the actual definition of open source does not specify that the software must be free. Instead open source refers to a different approach to managing intellectual property rights for software. For example, Gartner defines three key principles for open source:
- The general public has access to the source code for the software
- Licensees have unlimited rights to modify the software for their own use
- End-users and companies have rights to freely distribute the program
Many open source products have no upfront license cost or recurring maintenance fee. However, such software is hardly free when one considers the servers and IT personnel required to run the applications. Another popular misconception about open source is that it is unlicensed. Open source software publishers enjoy the same copyright laws as “closed source” models. The difference is that licensors of open source relinquish all of the control that traditional commercial software vendors typically maintain.
The benefits of open source are many. By allowing the general public to enhance the source code and use it for their own applications, the software gains access to a community of “free” developers. Changes to the code might include feature enhancements, defect removal or security fixes. Proponents of open source believe that the community development model accelerates the innovation process by creating faster time-to-market for new features. The beliefs are supported by numerous successful case studies including the Mozilla Firefox browser, Eclipse development environment or the Mediawiki application that runs Wikipedia.
More thoughts on open source in an upcoming post…
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