Building a Viable Business around Open Source Software (OSS)

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Discover the opportunities and challenges of establishing a successful business model using Open Source Software (OSS) like dGB Earth Sciences did with OpendTect. Explore the benefits such as lower startup costs and a faster pace of innovation, alongside the strategies for commercializing OSS effectively and meeting user needs to drive growth and sustainability.

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How to create a viable Business around Open Source Software (OSS) Kristofer Tingdahl, dGB Earth Sciences

Source of G&G OSS* *Wikipedia

The Quest for commercial OSS It is a fun, collaborative business It is creative Lower startup costs Higher pace of innovation There is a demand for commercial OSS Lower Costs Vendor independence We all wish to change the status quo

OpendTect milestones 2001: Closed source application Version 1: Attribute calculations with 3rd party visualization. 2003: Open source, own license Version 2: Own visualization (Coin3D), Basic seismic interpretation. Quantitative analysis focus. 2009: GPL license Large growth in user base. 2016: OpendTect 6.0 / OpendTect Pro Full-fledged seismic interpretation system.

Opendtect bragging rights Distinguished Achievement Award 2016

Opendtect bragging rights Thousands of users Mailing list: 4075 7000 different computers contacted our servers in 2015. 4500 academic licenses at hundred of universities 15 developers on staff 600k lines of C++ code

OpendTect metrics :-( Hundreds of paying users Not interpretation platform of choice Very little code from external developers Few external developers Not seen as OSS in the marketplace

dGBs word of wisdom Wisdom 1: Think of someone else! Wisdom 2: Build the community! Wisdom 3: Bring balance the force!

Think of someone else! A sale happens when A need is identified The need is filled by a solution The objections are overcome Many OSS projects are focused on the developer s need Developer s need != User s need

Typical OSS user IT savvy Accepts workarounds Research oriented

Typical Corporate user Not IT savvy Rejects workarounds Workflow oriented

Commercial users needs Technical Stability Ease of use Responsible supplier Available support Training IP guarantees

Build the community! Community of users Helps you set priority Establishes the software as standard Tests software Community of developers Project continuity Overcome single-vendor objections Lowers costs

Building developer community Make it easy to start develop Document well Be open to others contributions Create your own competition

Bring balance to the force! Too commercial business model kills OSS Too open source business model kills business

Consultancy OSS business model Create OSS software Sell geoscientific consultancy using software Sell custom development Examples: OpenSceneGraph Easy start Allows internal focus Hard to scale Low margins Development distractions

Support-based business model Create OSS software Sell support Sell bundled OSS solutions Examples: Kitware (CMake, VTK), Boundless Geo Good income before product matures Hard to keep clients

Open core business model Create OSS software Sell commercial extensions Example: dGB (OpendTect) Continuous good margins OSS vs. Commercial priority Vendor lock in License restrictions

Hosted OSS business model Create OSS software Sell/Lease software as service Continuous revenue stream Large IT administration Data protection

The problems of dGBs model Little incentive to buy commercial license Large support costs Not seen as OSS in the marketplace Not reaping OSS development benefits OpendTect Pro! Limit support? Split OSS / Commercial? Create development competition