Introduction

On the face of it, free open source software does not seem the obvious starting point for generating large revenue streams. However, many companies around the world are doing just that with free software: generating hard cash profits.

This chapter gives some examples of different ways in which companies and organisations have turned a profit from open source software:

• New ways of thinking
• Advertising
• Cloud-based services
• Ecosystem models
• Package extensions
• Public / private sector funding partnership
• Support services
• Spin off

Making money from open source, nevertheless, is not easy - just as making money with any business is not easy. The move to open systems is leading to new ways of thinking and doing business.

At the end of this chapter you will find some early statistics that are attempting to put a finite number on the number of open source users and the size of the market.