Using Open Source for Using Open Source for Strategic AdvantageStrategic Advantage

Alfred H. EssaCIO, MIT Sloanaessa@mit.edu

EDUCAUSE Live! April 28th, 2004

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TopicsTopics

• our common challenges• opportunities• analytical framework • demystifying open source• sample projects• predictions and conclusions

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First Things…First Things…

What is the open source value proposition?

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The Agnostic’s LeapThe Agnostic’s Leap

--- Casey Green, Campus Computing Project

“I remain agnostic about open source: I don’t know if it can make the leap from specific, discrete “back-room” applications (think Apache server software) to complex applications intended for those of us who do not have computer science degrees.”

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The Agnostic’s DilemmaThe Agnostic’s Dilemma

“We need to develop creative, collaborative solutions to the dilemma of maintenance and support in our shared software development initiatives.”

--- Annie Stunden, CIO Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison

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Our Common ChallengesOur Common Challenges

• technical complexity• stakeholder complexity• balancing costs and sustainability• educational technology in the

enterprise• sources of value and innovation

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OpportunitiesOpportunities

• innovation• peer review• new generation web• learning communities

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Analytical FrameworkAnalytical Framework

• lock-in• the innovator’s dilemma• user-innovation communities• intellectual commons• intellectual property

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Recognizing and Managing Recognizing and Managing “Lock-in”“Lock-in”

Brand Selection

Sampling

Entrenchment

Lock-In

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Technology DisruptionTechnology Disruption

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User-Innovation CommunitiesUser-Innovation Communities“User innovation communities have a great advantage over the manufacturer-centered innovation development systems that have been the mainstay of commerce for hundreds of years: they enable each using entity, whether an individual or a corporation, to develop exactly what it wants rather than relying on a manufacturer to as its (often very imperfect) agent. Moreover, individual users do not have to develop everything they need on their own: they can benefit from innovations developed by others and freely shared within the user community.”

Eric Von Hippel, MIT

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Intellectual CommonsIntellectual Commons

lawlawmarketsmarkets

architecturearchitecture

normsnorms

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Intellectual Property: The Intellectual Property: The Spectre of LitigationSpectre of Litigation

• SCO vs IBM• Acacia Media Technologies,

Test.Com and patent claims

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Senses of Open SourceSenses of Open Source

• license • software development model• intellectual commons• disruptive innovation

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Open Source LicenseOpen Source License

• roots in “free software”, Richard Stallman

• free implies “freedom”, i.e. the freedom to copy, modify, and distribute the software

• a fundamental divide among open source licenses, “copy-left” and reciprocity

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Open Source Software Open Source Software Development ModelDevelopment Model

The real beauty of open source is not the license, it is the process. --- Martin Fink, HP

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Open Source as an Intellectual Open Source as an Intellectual CommonsCommons

• reciprocity in “copy-left” means that creator benefits from improvements, generating a positive feedback loop

• intellectual commons (my interpretation) also means that the underlying infrastructure for innovation is not proprietary

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Open Source as Disruptive Open Source as Disruptive InnovationInnovation

• some open source projects have signatures of disruptive technological innovation

• but will they be able to bridge the agnostic’s leap (Casey Green) and the agnostic’s dilemma (Annie Stunden) ?

• if so, which ones?

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Open Source RisksOpen Source Risks

• user interface design• documentation• support• feature-centric development• programming for the self• religion• intellectual property

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Sample ProjectsSample Projects

• Open CourseWare, Merlot (content)

• uPortal• DSpace• Sakai• .LRN

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Predictions and ConclusionsPredictions and Conclusions