the value add of open source for innovation

The value add ofOPEN SOURCEfor innovationBalázs Scheidlerco-founder and CTO, BalaBit

Introduction

Started programmingat age 12 on

Commodore 64

First exposure to Linux at 16-17:

Slackware 1.0, Linux kernel 0.99pl14

Contributor to open source projects at 19: Free Pascal Compiler

and others

Starting my own open source project at 21:

syslog-ng

Starting my own company with an

Open Source business model at 23:

BalaBit

Balázs Scheidler, founder & CTO of BalaBit

What is Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS)?The four freedoms

The freedom to redistribute copies so

you can help your neighbor.

The freedom to distribute copies of your

modified versions to others.

The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish.

The freedom to run the program as you

wish, for any purpose

Claim: Everyone is directly or indirectly using Open Source software Every Day.

Everyone is using Open Source

• 7 out of 9 Gold sponsors on the exhibition floor are definitely using open source

• Revealed using simple google queries (company + open source)

• The other two provides services rather than products, so more difficult to tell

Social:

Mobile:

Cloud:

IoT:

Big Data:

Everyone is using Open Source

Why do companies spend money on engineersand give away the results for free?

Because it yields the best product

Because it yields the best product&

Higher adoption in the early phase

If and only if a proper communityis formed around it

The code becomes an independent entity of its original creator

Best Product, why?

MORE USERS,MORE FEEDBACK →BETTER PRODUCT More adaptable, more environments Scratching an itch

HIGHER ADOPTION Nothing stops anyone from trying it (it's free to use and study) Network effect (more users lead to even more users) Making the pie larger in the long term

Best Product II.

ITERATIVE SOFTWARE ENGINEERING W/ COLLABORATION “Standing on the shoulders of giants” Instead of huge increments:o smaller steps,

o one at a time, o potentially by a different contributor, o continuously refining the whole

COMPETITION Successful projects are backed by multiple vendors, competing in the marketplace Competing companies work on the same code base

Engineer Motivation

Hobby & jobEngineers take a job to pay their bills… … but usually still have retain hobbiesOpen Source can be one of those hobbies

Making one's hobby his jobhas enormous benefits through motivation

IN EXCHANGE FOR CODE AND CONTROL,COMPANIES GET THE BEST PRODUCT

AND THE BEST POSITION TO PRODUCTIZE IT

THEY ALSO GRANT THE RIGHT TOANY OTHER COMPANY TO DO THE SAME.

… with enough investment

It is not just Software

Wikipedia Creative Commons

(creative works such as photos,

music)

Open Hardware (Arduino)

Maker community (3D printing, DIY)

Summary

Everyone is using Open Source

Open source development yields the best product & increases adoption

Community is the driving force

Thank You!

Questions?