Translating open source into monetary business value

Abstract

Open source is a philosophy that supports an idea in many ways. Learning, freedom, and community support are several aspects which relate to this ideology. The goal of this study was to introduce the open source way of thinking by defining it, comparing the benefits and drawbacks of using it, and analyzing implemented business models utilizing it as well. Also, a few companies that are largely related to open source were analyzed to see how open source has affected them. The second half of this study will demonstrate and explain how a business was created based on several open source ideas.