This document discusses ensuring the sustainable development of open source products. Open source software sustainability is pursued by creating value for all stakeholders. Some key ways to sustain open source product development include corporate sponsorship and generating revenue from services, complementary products, and support/training. While open source software is initially free, 3% of users on average become paying customers. A case study of the open source product Joget Workflow shows how it was able to sustain development through consulting, training, implementation services, and an enterprise edition to generate over $500k in funding in under 2 years.

1. Ensuring Sustainable Open Source
Product Roadmap
MyGOSSCON 2011
Presenter: Tien-Soon Law
Technology Director, Innov8tif Solutions
Evangelist, Joget Workflow

2. Open Source Software = ?

3. Open Source Software?
free free
free
free free

4. By Zach Dill (bugbbq), on Flickr

5. OSS != Everything Free

6. OSS Key Success Factor
Sustainability

7. By tonx, on Flickr

8. Economic sustainability is pursued through the creation of
value for all stakeholders, from farmers, to the end user.

9. How to Sustain Open Source Product
Development?
1. Corporate sponsorship
2. Revenues from
i. Services
ii. Complimentary products

10. Eclipse Foundation’s Sponsors

11. Apache Foundation’s Sponsors

12. Payment at The Time of Acquisition
Proprietary Software

13. Payment at The Point of Value
Open Source Software

14. shifted
Proprietary Software
OpenSourceSoftware

15. What Are The Monetizable Values?
• Support
• Training
• Consulting
• Product implementation
• All-inclusive Enterprise Edition subscription
(annual recurring revenue)

16. Who Will Pay?
Adopters Paying
Customers
n %
David Skok, investor of JBoss

17. Who Will Pay?
Adopters Paying
Customers
Conversion rate of open
sources software users into
paying customers: 3%
conversion
David Skok, investor of JBoss

18. Malaysian Public Sector OSS Master Plan
Laying the
foundation
and early
adoption
Accelerate
d adoption Self-reliance
Phase I Phase II Phase III
Payment at the time of software acquisition
Payment at the point of value

19. Financially Sustainable Open Source
Company =
Sustainable Product
Roadmap

20. While evaluating an open
source product, find out
how the company
sustains

21. Disruption
OSS and
services
earned $2.86B
USD in 2008A
A. Lawton, M., Notarfonzo, R. Worldwide Open Source Software Business Models 2007–2011 Forecast: A Preliminary View. IDC Inc.

22. Disruption
OSS and
services
earned $2.86B
USD in 2008A
$60B USD / year in
lost proprietary
software licensing
feesB
A. Lawton, M., Notarfonzo, R. Worldwide Open Source Software Business Models 2007–2011 Forecast: A Preliminary View. IDC Inc.
B. B. Rosenberg, D., Study Finds "Free Open Source Software Is Costing Vendors $60 Billion", April 16, 2008

23. Shared-Values Benefited by All Users of a
Healthy OSS Ecosystem
• Translations
• Community support (discussions,
documentations)
• Beta releases tested in multiple localities
• Bug fixes

24. Case Study
Joget Workflow
an OSS made in Malaysia, gone global

25. Nov 2009 Dec 2009 May 2010 Nov 2011

26. Nov 2009 Dec 2009 May 2010
$500k USD
Nov 2011

27. Nov 2009 Dec 2009 May 2010
$500k USD
Nov 2011

28. Nov 2009 Dec 2009 May 2010
$500k USD
Nov 2011
International APICTA 2011 Merit Winner
“Best of Tools and Infra App”

31. 1,000 adopter sites
750 community members
22 partners
in 2 years

32. Service Productization
• Consulting
• Training
• Product
implementation

33. Service Productization
• Consulting
• Training
• Product
implementation
• Enterprise support
• All-inclusive Enterprise
Edition
• Apps and plugins (Joget
Marketplace)
• Joget Cloud
scalable

34. OSS sustainability is pursued through the creation of value for
all stakeholders, from implementers, to the end user.
Tien-Soon Law
Technology Director, Innov8tif Solutions
Evangelist, Joget Workflow
@tiensoon