Guy Harrison, a columnist at Database Trends and Applications, observes that the disruptive effects of open source software are still being felt across the industry.
“Open source software has created a significant and persistent disruption,” he said. However, “ironically, just as the acceptance of open source in the enterprise has finally become established, the enthusiasm for open source in the software industry and venture capital community is starting to wane. Unfortunately, the billions of dollars invested in open source has not created another Red Hat.”
Harrison adds that “programmers need to eat, and corporations need revenue. Unless a truly viable and repeatable open source business model emerges, I think we will see a decreasing investment in open source software going forward.”
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