The right approach to open source can be a great revenue model for the software provider — my company did it and we've been profitable since day one.

Of course, choosing an open-source business model is not without risk (paywall). Competitors are free to copy your technology, and some percentage of users—even most users—may never become ...

Since its inception in 1998, open source has become the de-facto standard for software development and proven itself as a viable business model.

The implications of this evolution are that open-source software companies now have the opportunity to become the dominant business model for software infrastructure.

Open-source software allows anyone to modify, enhance, or view the source code behind it. It can encourage collaboration in development.