1. OpenOffice,
Open Business
imacat
imacat@mail.imacat.idv.tw
2013/8/3

2. “OpenOffice,Open Business” is created by imacat (Yang Shih-Ching),
and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

3. imacat
● A member of the Apache OpenOffice Project
Management Committee
● An OpenOffice committer
● The system administrator of the OpenOffice
forum and Wiki
● A member of Women in Free and Open
Source Software
● A graduate student from National Taiwan
Normal University

4. Question:
What do you do
with open source?

5. What Do You Do
with Open Source?
● Using open source programs/systems?

6. What Do You Do
with Open Source?
● Using open source programs/systems
● Programming with open source
programming languages or environments?

7. What Do You Do
with Open Source?
● Using open source programs/systems
● Programming with open source
programming languages or environments
● Hacking and modifying open source projects
for your own use?

8. What Do You Do
with Open Source?
● Using open source programs/systems
● Programming with open source
programming languages or environments
● Hacking and modifying open source projects
for your own use
● Attending community events and
conferences?

9. What Do You Do
with Open Source?
● Using open source programs/systems
● Programming with open source
programming languages or environments
● Hacking and modifying open source projects
for your own use
● Attending community events and
conferences
● Filing bugs, submitting patches and joining
the upstream discussion?

10. What do business do
with open source?

11. What Do Business Do
with Open Source?
● Programming with open source
programming languages or environments?

12. What Do Business Do
with Open Source?
● Programming with open source
programming languages or environments
● Using, hacking and modifying open source
projects/systems for their own use?

13. And then?

14. What Do Business Do
with Open Source?
● Programming with open source
programming languages or environments
● Using, hacking and modifying open source
projects/systems for their own use?
● (And then?)

15. An Open Source Business Community

16. This is how we work
in Apache Software Foundation

17. Open Source Business
Community in Apache
● In Apache Software
Foundation, we
build open source
communities like
this:
Apache Software
Foundation Projects
Apache Software
Foundation Projects
Business CommunityBusiness Community
CompanyCompanyCompanyCompany
CompanyCompany CompanyCompany
End UsersEnd Users

18. Open Source Business
Community in Apache
● ASF projects are the infrastructures of
business, and they are rolling money.
– Apache HTTPD, Tomcat, SpamAssassin

19. Open Source Business
Community in Apache
● ASF projects are the infrastructures of
business, and they are rolling money.
– Apache HTTPD, Tomcat, SpamAssassin
● Business companies sponsor ASF in many
ways:
– Money, development, hardware, and more.

20. Open Source Business
Community in Apache
● ASF projects are the infrastructures of
business, and they are rolling money.
– Apache HTTPD, Tomcat, SpamAssassin
● Business companies sponsor ASF in many
ways:
– Money, development, hardware, and more.
● ASF returns with quality software projects
that roll money for the business.

21. Open Source Business
Community in Apache
● It works like this:
– Business companies
sponsor ASF with
money,
development, and
more.
– ASF returns with
quality software
projects that roll
money for these
companies.
Apache Software
Foundation Projects
Apache Software
Foundation Projects
Business CommunityBusiness Community
CompanyCompanyCompanyCompany CompanyCompany CompanyCompany
Quality
Software
Infrastructure
Quality
Software
Infrastructure
Sponsoring:
Money,
development,
and more
Sponsoring:
Money,
development,
and more

22. There are several key issues
to the success of this ecosystem.

23. Key Issues to an Open Source
Business Community
● Meritocracy
– Everyone can join in as long as she/he
contributes.

24. Key Issues to an Open Source
Business Community
● Meritocracy
– Everyone can join in as long as she/he
contributes.
● Non-Affiliation
– Software projects are not affiliated with any of
the sponsors.

25. Key Issues to an Open Source
Business Community
● Meritocracy
– Everyone can join in as long as she/he
contributes.
● Non-Affiliation
– Software projects are not affiliated with any of
the sponsors.
● Transparency
– Everything goes public. No hidden affiliation.

26. TRUST
Software projects are neutral
and they welcome everybody to join

27. But, why?

28. Why should we bring business to
open source software projects?
Isn’t it enough to keep OSS projects
non-commercial?

29. Because otherwise it just won’t work.

30. Keeping OSS projects non-commercial
means
we have to depend on volunteer developers
who work in their spare time

31. Volunteer Developers’
Spare Time…
● Overnight after work

32. Volunteer Developers’
Spare Time…
● Overnight after work
● Weekends

33. Volunteer Developers’
Spare Time…
● Overnight after work
● Weekends
● Holidays

34. Volunteer Developers’
Spare Time…
● Overnight after work
● Weekends
● Holidays
● …

35. Volunteer Developers’
Spare Time…
● Overnight after work
● Weekends
● Holidays
● …
● The time after work when they are supposed
to stay with their family, children, husbands
and wives

36. Volunteer Developers’
Spare Time…
● Overnight after work
● Weekends
● Holidays
● …
● The time after work when they are supposed
to stay with their family, children, husbands
and wives
– … when you, as an end-user, are staying at
home watching TV

37. This system won’t work,
especially with medium-to-large projects

38. For the OSS projects to be healthy,
project development must take daytime,
and this time must be paid
by someone, some company

39. That’s why we need business sponsors.
Not only sponsoring the money,
but most importantly,
sponsoring the development.

40. But, again, why?

41. Why do we sponsor
when software is free to use and take?

42. Morality is the first reason,
but not the only, nor the last.

43. Benefits to Sponsor OSS Projects
● Join it and get a vote

44. Benefits to Sponsor OSS Projects
● Join it and get a vote
● Prevent competitors from project affiliation

45. Benefits to Sponsor OSS Projects
● Join it and get a vote
● Prevent competitors from project affiliation
● Fix the bugs from the upstream once and for
all

46. Benefits to Sponsor OSS Projects
● Join it and get a vote
● Prevent competitors from project affiliation
● Fix the bugs from the upstream once and for
all
● Get credits for your contribution

47. And, most importantly…

48. Benefits to Sponsor OSS Projects
● Join it and get a vote
● Prevent competitors from project affiliation
● Fix the bugs from the upstream once and for
all
● Get credits for your contribution
● Help make quality projects, and these
projects will reward you nicely!

49. Come join us!
dev@openoffice.apache.org
https://openoffice.apache.org/get-involved.html

50. Thank you.
Any question?