Paul Krill
Editor at Large

SpikeSource CEO cites open source opportunities

news
Aug 9, 20071 min

Open source is creating more business opportunities rather than limiting them, even if the software itself is given away, said Kim Polese, CEO of SpikeSource.

“In fact, I see open source [as] driving an incredible renaissance right now,” she said in an interview on Wednesday at LinuxWorld Conference & Expo in San Francisco.

“There are more opportunities being founded,” she said.

Open source business models generally involve selling subscriptions to technical support services. Another business model that does not involve selling software is the hosted model, in which software is hosted and accessed via the Web with advertising providing revenues, such as what Google has done.

When software is given away, a community forms around it, Polese said. Developers of this software can then build a commercial business. She cited as an example Bryght , which formed around the Drupal project for open source content management.

SpikeSource provides access to open source stacks and certifies them across multiple operating systems. Patch management and support services also are featured.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

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