“According to an IDC report, Open Source Software Business
Models 2007-2011 Forecast: A Preliminary View, worldwide open
source-related revenue reached $1.8 billion in 2006 and will grow
to reach $5.8 billion by 2011. That’s a forecasted 26% of compound
annual growth for the next five years. That’s not even counting the
millions of re-purposed freely distributed Linux systems and
billions of pieces of non-commercial free software in use today.
Without argument the economic effects of open source are likely to
reach well beyond the cash paid for products and services. As the
industry grows there are a select group of business leaders that
are making the industry what it is today and will be responsible
for the direction and success of the industry going forward. Here
are the open source business leaders who matter the most as 2008
begins…”