Open Source and the Talent Ecosystem

As I’ve mentioned several times in this book, open source is a “scratch-your-own-itch” model, meaning individuals get involved with projects that interest them, solve problems they have, and contribute in beneficial ways. The benefit to the individual can be in several tangible ways and usually relates to an acute need, such as a framework for building a software application, tools for working with a device, or full applications to replace commercial software. But many also look at open source as an enabler for their career, where their contributions and peer recognition can be a way to showcase their skills to potential employers.

The investments we’ve seen by companies in open source in recent years are a testament to the importance of open source for them to better execute as a company, which we looked at in Chapter 10, Commercialization of Open Source. This chapter digs into one major aspect of that execution,...