Patrice Bertrand - CNLL

84: GNU project started

85: Free Software FoundationFree software driven by a craving for freedom

98: Open Source InitiativeOpen Source software driven by business logic

14: FLOSS thriving everywhere,with huge transformations far beyond IT

30 = 15 x 2

1984: Free Software

Business is not the focus

It’s about taking controlIt’s about sharing

It’s about freedom

And yet…

1998: Aiming for enterprise ITOpen Source: Tone down the freedom bit

Put forward superior quality and controlStill fostering common software goods

Since then, business logic has been a major factor in the making of FLOSS software, taking it to new heights

Although the discourses sometimes clashed, the software was the same.And while free & open source thrived everywhere, both aims were being met.

Business models of the 90’sIn search of the right business model

1) Develop software,because it’s fun, because there is a need

2) Release it as OSSbecause it’s good, because it’s more useful this way,because others can help out

3) Try to make a livingbecause otherwise it stops, it’s not useful

The rise of OSS vendors

The dominant model for startups in the 00’sComplementing Foundations and CommunitiesBringing FLOSS to new domainsEvolving new business models, some based on a closed-source version

And yet…

a positive new driving force for FLOSS

« Our product is great;OSS is irrelevant »

« Our product is greatbecause it’s OSS »

Marketshare

open closed

Life of an open source software vendor

Shared R&D

Companies assign staff to projectFor each day given, get x100 valueThey also receive:

A say in governance and roadmapFull control of their software dependenciesInnovation from other brainsSovereignty & security

Most successful FLOSS business model

Shared R&D

The best deal for enterprise IT

Cost effective, with strategic benefits attached

Plus positive downfalls for all IT

But difficult to get started:the key role of strong foundations

Who is driving IT ?A major shift

80’s & 90’s: software vendorssoftware is a revenue,must not be used freelystandards will allow competition

00’s & 10’s: larger software consumerssoftware is a cost,the cheaper the betterstandards are good

Floss keeps on gaining new grounds

In the 90s, a better compiler, …Now Floss is leading in almost all hot fields: in servers, in networking, in cloud infrastructures, in web platforms, in content management, in Big Data, in smartphones too, in embeddedsystems, in development tools and frameworks, … and gaining positions in enterprise application layers and ERPs

Pervading IT,

Changing mindsets far beyond IT

Prompting major changes on Society and Culture

The GLOBAL impact of FLOSS

FLOSS

Commoditization

Lower entry barriers

Innovativestartups

Web Giants

Big Data

Shared R&D

Open Innovation

CreativeCommons

OpenStreetMapWikipedia

Open KnowledgeOpen Access

Open Government

Open ArtOpen Movies

Open Hardware

Jobs

FabLabs

Competitivity

Open Data

15 years of FLOSS public policies

Overall, french governments have been receptive with regards to free software

Though action has not always matched words

First impetus ~2000, with downfalls in terms of awarenessA glorious instant in 2005, with Michel Rocard leading the fight

against software patents at European ParliamentAn important beacon in 2012, with the Prime Minister’s memo

on FLOSSIn 2013, a law that dictates priority to FLOSS (in limited scope)

France among the leading nations on FLOSS adoption

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

4 Md€2,5 Md€

1,5 Md€450 M€140 M€

60 M€

CAGR ~45%

Unstoppable ?

Total FLOSS market in France, 2000-2014. Source: PAC.

FLOSS pure-players in France

~330 players focussed on FLOSSSoftware vendors, service providers, integrators, consultants, trainers…

Healthy and fast growing companiesMostly small and medium sizedThey concentrate expertise and are enabling the wider FLOSS industry

FLOSS clusters in France

Since 2010, the CNLL

CNLL was created by FLOSS clusters in 2010, with 3 missions:

Facilitate coordination and joint-ventures between clusters

Communicate on the sector, its key rolein innovation and its specific concerns

Represent the sector’s enterprisestowards governmental and public institutions at the national level

The next 15 yearsBusiness logic has taken open source to new heights,

new territoriesBut the spirit of free software lives on

Keeping control over the software that controls ourlives has never been more vital

After the Snowden revelations, trust in software isbroken, only Floss can restore it

The Cloud offers great opportunities, but comes withgreat dangers too. Primarily that of loosing control

Shared R&D still has large swathes of IT to conquer