A Case Study: Open Source Community and the Commercial Enterprise

Open Source Software is a solution possibility for all customers seeking a higher degree of robustness from delivered software. Open source also opens new ground for software development houses and other IT shops. New business models that range from support services to pure product development now consider open source a key component of their core business plan. This has led to interesting relationships between open source communities and vendors who must co-exist for each otherpsilas survival. In this paper we share a case study experience of a relatively small software development and support shop whose business model relies on open source software. This experience describes the advantages and disadvantages, discussing the blending of business objectives, cultures, people, and software practices across an open source community and software vendor. Lessons learned and perspectives on how such arrangements may fail or succeed are shared.