Corporate Adoption
Define FOSS
Software available for anyone to use, for anypurpose, for free (depending on the license!)
Anyone can view the source code of thesoftware as opposed to proprietary software
Community-based development (volunteersin most cases!)
what causes Volunteer worker to continue working on FOSS?
They are driven by intrinsic motivations like a passion for learning, a sense of belonging to a community, and their professional identity.
What is Hybridization
Companys taking communityinventions/ ideas and turning themprivet
Continuing the development of thistool in privet
Company donating or payingvolunteer workers to continueworking on it
Name on benefit and one drawback of companies adopting FOSS
benefits of companies adopting FOSS:
Cost saving by not purchasing software
Cost saving by not developing in-house
Network effects
What are the drawbacks of adopting FOSS?
Security concerns
Licensing compatibility
Governance conflicts
From a company perspective why do they not want a single developer?
Many of the most widely used FOSS packages are maintained by individual developers, not large communities. This is risky because that person could retire, change jobs, or be unable to continue the work.
The "Free-Riding" Problem:
A central tension is that firms profit from the vast amount of unpaid labor from the volunteer community, raising critical questions about the fair distribution of the economic benefits created by FOSS.
example
A major conflict occurred between Elastic and Amazon, where Amazon took Elastic's open source code, repackaged it, and sold it as a competing service.
How does FOSS differ from proprietary software?
1. Licensing & Access
FOSS → Source code is open. Anyone can view, study, modify, and share it.
Proprietary → Source code is closed. Users only get a license to use the software under strict terms.
2. Cost
FOSS → Usually free to download and use (though companies may charge for support, hosting, or customization).
Proprietary → Typically requires payment (one-time license, subscription, or per-user fees).
3. Control & Customization
FOSS → Users can adapt the software to their own needs, add features, or remove what they don’t want.
Proprietary → Users must wait for the vendor to make changes; no legal right to modify.
Survey response (average time worked on debian?)
0-20%
How Companies Can Help Protect FOSS
1.Companies should have clear policies that encourage and support employees who want to contribute to FOSS projects.
2.They should follow the example of the US government and create a "software bill of materials" (SBOM), which lists all the software components in a product. This helps identify and manage potential vulnerabilities.
3.When companies contribute to FOSS, they should focus not only on features that are useful to them but also on general security and maintenance