Raising Linux to Grow Open Source

By Jack M. Germain LinuxInsider 02/19/14 9:47 PM PT

The biggest driving factor for software developers to work together with open source is cost. It is much cheaper for them to cooperate through open source than it is to remain isolated with proprietary software, asserted Inktank VP of Product Management Neil Levine. "You can no longer rely on one particular vendor to provide everything you need with regard to technology."

The open source business model has an inherent ability to bring software rivals together for mutual gain. This approach to developing and distributing software keeps expanding the usefulness and success of the Linux operating system as well.

Linux has not yet come close to replacing Windows on the desktop, but open source is much more than Linux. Its "co-opetive" nature is spreading through the enterprise as much as it is driving the many different Linux development communities.

The continued growth of open source software is closely linked with the ongoing struggle to bring about an expansion of the Linux footprint. Certainly one unifying factor in bringing together the various competing entities is the leadership provided by the Linux Foundation and other umbrella organizations.

The co-opetive nature of open source is driven further by consortiums that gather cooperation of industry makers and shakers toward a common computing goal. Consider the Allseen Alliance's efforts in growing the Internet of Things. Another example is the Open Compute Project. It formed to drive development of servers and data centers following the model traditionally associated with open source software projects.

Numerous similar organizations have sprung up in recent years to foster the advantages and progress of open source software. Often unspoken in this support is the growth of the Linux OS. There remains an unbreakable link between Linux and open source. This is the case not only in adopting the business model, but also in using open source code. Even chief Linux hater Microsoft has shown a renewed interest in contributing to the development of the Linux kernel and other open source projects.

"It is simply not possible to create technology in isolation any more. The software is too complex. The Linux kernel alone changes nine times an hour. No single organization can compete with that rate of change and pace of innovation," Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, told LinuxInsider.

Onlookers often see only a series of forays that developer communities make into an opposing product maker's domain. Some divergent communities seem to thrive, while others are left behind to struggle. It is sometimes challenging to see mutual gain result from consorting with competitors.

"Obviously, as open source becomes the dominant form of technology development, there will be lots of communities. As I have said many times before, a diversity of communities is a strength rather than a weakness. The bottom line here is that code talks, and we suspect that, as always, the best code will determine which communities thrive versus contract," noted Zemlin.

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Raising Linux to Grow Open Source