
The open source business model is under siege - pauldix
https://www.influxdata.com/the-open-source-database-business-model-is-under-siege/
======
23david
Really good overview of the current business environment for OSS companies and
SAAS vendors of OSS software.

I definitely agree that Amazon, Azure and Google are squeezing the OSS vendors
and other SAAS providers by offering their own hosted options. From
experience, I know that it's possible to still compete with the large cloud
vendors, so I don't think that they're necessarily an existential threat to
OSS businesses. But if you're a VC-backed company watching your valuation and
your investors are expecting a 100x return, I think that cloud vendors jumping
into your market makes the big investor payday a lot less likely. And if you
want to compete in the SAAS market your company needs to get really good at
the managed hosting business.

IANAL, but if all options are on the table is it possible to have a modified
OSS license that would exclude 'hyperscale' cloud vendors from offering a
hosted version?

~~~
pauldix
(Post author here) I think that was part of the goal with AGPL license, but it
doesn't explicitly remove the possibility. My guess is that's one reason AWS
hasn't offered hosted Mongo, despite the large community around the DB.

CockroachDB took an interesting two license approach with all code still out
in the open: [https://www.cockroachlabs.com/blog/how-were-building-a-
busin...](https://www.cockroachlabs.com/blog/how-were-building-a-business-to-
last/)

Then there was MariaDB's recent closed, with a time bomb to open source later
or the BSL (business source license):
[https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/19/mysql-founder-tries-a-
new-...](https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/19/mysql-founder-tries-a-new-software-
licensing-model/)

Both seem like interesting approaches. Hard to tell what, if anything will get
the most community and commercial moment behind it. I think that's the key:
being able to foster a large community while being able to build a sustainable
business around it. Ideally, one that can justify VC investment. If you're
building a smaller business then your options definitely change.

------
cbanek
To pull back a moment, isn't the entire software business model under siege?
Wasn't it always? Software is easy to copy for almost free with no loss of
fidelity.

In the 80's and 90's, it was harder to pirate software. There were stores like
waldensoftware that would sell disks, and you could theoretically install it
on as many computers as you wanted. The next arms race was all about how hard
it was to copy CD-ROM games, until everyone had a CD burner. While some games
and software had copy protection, it wasn't easily centralized until the
internet came out (and much after that, even).

Looking at closed source code, specifically Windows, they were basically
giving it away. Chrome, firefox, android, giving it away. Now it all seems to
be about hosted SaaS, ecosystems, and relying on network effects to carry you
over the finish line.

By not giving source/binaries and making you use a hosted & centralized
version, they make sure you can't run it standalone, and keep you tied to
their product as a subscription (which is great for them).

Sure we've got DRM, and there are ways to make people pay for software, but it
seems to be falling out of favor. People would seemingly rather fight ads
instead, and "pay" with their attention, or with microtransactions.

Phones, devices and gadgets on the other hand, everyone seems to love those.
You have to buy those, and to run the latest best free software, you should
buy the newest gadget!

