IT Manager’s Journal: Sleepycat–A Blue Ribbon Example of Open Source Financial Success

“Ask the executives of any IT shop that has not yet dipped its
toe into the waters of open source software, or perhaps has just
played around the edges of the pool, why they have not jumped in
with both feet and the answer is often the belief that companies
using the open source model are unlikely to have financial
viability. In other words, they are afraid that in the process of
offering its source code for free, a company is jeopardizing its
ability to remain a going concern and will not be around to provide
support over a period of years. Sleepycat software shows that
doesn’t have to happen.

“It is not just IT shops that have a mistaken impression of the
open source business models. Ask companies that only operate under
a proprietary licensing arrangement and you will get pretty much
the same answer. The general feeling in much of the IT industry is
that you cannot make money by allowing the world to see your source
code…”

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