After completing the open-source case on Linux last week, I discovered this article which features an interview with Dries Buytaert, the founder of the open-source software project, Drupal. The volunteer project has grown immensely since its beginnings in 2000 and is used by big names such as The White House, Harvard, and MTV.
Towards the end of the article, Mr. Buytaert addresses the issue of commercialization within the open-source community. Obviously we have discussed this topic in class and it was interesting to get an outsider view on the matter. Mr. Buytaert explains that by ensuring that the leadership and decision-making parts of the project are not influenced by commercial interests, the project remains in a healthy balance. The project is driven commercially, but directed democratically. Open-source companies struggling with commercialization may want to start taking notes...
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Nice article. It is interesting that many Open Source projects are increasingly (informally) managed by large corporations like IBM, Microsoft, and Sun. Thus, it does appear that open source is indeed good for business!