4 ms·

This doesn't really answer my question though. Seems like the other comment to my question is spot on. If you divide all company actions into making money or sa

This doesn't really answer my question though. Seems like the other comment to my question is spot on. If you divide all company actions into making money or saving money then open sourcing your toolset is more of a saving money thing as you can get people who aren't on your payroll to contribute to them. That's all well and good but not exactly what I think of when someone says "making money with open source."

phkahler 6y ago
That seems like an accounting mindset. Engineering is not a cost center (to be minimized) it's an investment in the future. This view offers a lot more flexibility and options - including cooperation. It also suggests that you may get back more than you put in. Invest wisely of course.
- BoysenberryPi 6y ago
  > It also suggests that you may get back more than you put in You can also get back significantly less than what you put in.
nostrademons 6y ago
For a lot of corporate open-source the goal is to commoditize a complement of your revenue-generating product and hence generate more sales. If you're Elastic, having more companies running ElasticSearch increases the number of paying customers looking for hosted ElasticSearch. If you're RedHat or IBM, having more companies using Linux increases the number of companies looking for Linux support. If you're Google, having more phones running Android increases the number of devices you can show ads on. Similarly for independent developers. You don't make money off the open-source software itself. You make money by getting your name out there as a competent developer, and then creating a bidding war between multiple employers who want to lock up the finite supply of your labor. The delta in your compensation from having multiple competitive offers can be more than some people's entire salary.

4 ms·

This doesn't really answer my question though. Seems like the other comment to my question is spot on. If you divide all company actions into making money or sa

by BoysenberryPi 6y ago

phkahler 6y ago
That seems like an accounting mindset. Engineering is not a cost center (to be minimized) it's an investment in the future. This view offers a lot more flexibility and options - including cooperation. It also suggests that you may get back more than you put in. Invest wisely of course.
- BoysenberryPi 6y ago
  > It also suggests that you may get back more than you put in You can also get back significantly less than what you put in.
nostrademons 6y ago
For a lot of corporate open-source the goal is to commoditize a complement of your revenue-generating product and hence generate more sales. If you're Elastic, having more companies running ElasticSearch increases the number of paying customers looking for hosted ElasticSearch. If you're RedHat or IBM, having more companies using Linux increases the number of companies looking for Linux support. If you're Google, having more phones running Android increases the number of devices you can show ads on. Similarly for independent developers. You don't make money off the open-source software itself. You make money by getting your name out there as a competent developer, and then creating a bidding war between multiple employers who want to lock up the finite supply of your labor. The delta in your compensation from having multiple competitive offers can be more than some people's entire salary.