Red Hat, Inc. announced on April 10, 2006, its acquisition of JBoss, a leader in open source middleware.
The combination of two recognized open source leaders demonstrates advancements in open source software and collaborative development models.
When giving away open source code for free, how are companies in the open source distribution community able to make money?
Here are some observations:
1. Sell hardware: Make the key driver of revenues hardware, not software.
2. Sell professional services or maintenance: An open source product that requires a lot of servicing may derive revenues from services and support rather than software license fees. With this model, key personnel shifts from developers to professional service and support providers.
3. Open source older versions, but keep upgrades and updates proprietary.
4. Use a dual license model: Use a commercial license for the distribution of some code, while using an open source license for the distribution of other code.
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