Tim O'Reilly has a longish essay on The Open Source Paradigm Shift. O'Reilly says the Open Source shift (assuming here that there is one) is a reflection of three long-term trends (see the list below) and uses the trends as lenses to examine the shift:
- Software as Commodity (Software itself is no longer the primary locus of value in the computer industry. The commoditization of software drives value to services enabled by that software. New business models are required.)
- Network-Enabled Collaboration (Open source is the "natural language" of a networked community. Given enough developers and a network to connect them, open-source-style development behavior inevitably emerges.)
- Customizability: Software-as-a-Service (Software as a process.)
He concludes: "But a historical view tells us that the commoditization of older technologies and the crystallization of value in new technologies is part of a process that advances the industry and creates more value for all. What is essential is to find a balance, in which we as an industry create more value than we capture as individual participants, enriching the commons that allows for further development by others."
Aloha!
