Summary

In this chapter, we looked at how the commercialization of open source projects works while building on the concepts started in Chapter 3, as well as Chapter 5. We saw how sustainability in open source is tied to productization, whether that be by individual users or corporations/vendors. We then saw common models of commercialization for open source projects. Finally, we looked at some ways to best set your project up for commercial usage.

Commercialization of open source is still quite controversial, as it is sometimes viewed that companies take advantage of open source projects and open source developers for corporate gain. But I can first-hand say that this is an exception rather than the norm; look back to the story I led off with in this chapter in my work with Microsoft around the PHP Windows Installer. The work I did ended up being an opportunity for me to grow my career as an open source developer. While I didn’t get a job at Microsoft, it did open up other...