Is Open Source Recession Proof?

DaMan writes "ZDNet asks Is open source recession proof? 'So, how might a recession affect open source software? Well, first off, I think that any business model that relies on volunteers could certainly see interest decline if times get tough. There are a lot of businesses that rely on people working for them for free because they get a pay check somewhere else, and I think that a recession would make people question working without getting any dollars in return.'"

Comments

They just don't get it.

[SatanicPuppy]

Do they think OSS has a problem with recessions? Quite the reverse.

I got nailed in the Bomb, like a lot of us. Went through 4 companies in 3 years, and only one of them still existed after I left it (for another 3 whole months). Leaves you with nothing but crap on your resume; can't even prove the companies existed, more less get a reference.

I got left with skills that no one wanted, and no money to buy professional tools to start my own business. So I turned to Open Source. I'd hardly used it to that point; hadn't had any real need. But the ability to churn out products using nothing but freely available tools put money in my pocket, let me undercut my competition, and basically saw me through a rough patch. I've never been as active in OSS development as I was in those days...It wasn't because I had so much free time, it was because I needed that stuff, and if it didn't exist, I damn well had to create it!

So they think OSS is something that comes out of people being well off? All of us volunteer because we're all so bored, and have so much money and free time that we just sit around coding things? Are they nuts? Did Linus start programming Linux because he was bored with working with all the fancy Unix code people were throwing at him? No! He started it because he couldn't afford the expensive stuff, so he damn well made his own. Did anyone pay him to do it? No! Did he end up making money off it none-the-less? Yes!

Far from being bad for OSS, recessions are GOOD for OSS. You lose your job, and freelance while looking for another one...What are you going to use? Companies have a need, and no budget to fill it with commercial software...What are they going to use? Sure, if you specialize in zillion dollar OSS deployments, you've got problems (problem #1: You're mythical), but the true strength of OSS isn't in giant deployments, but in filling in the gaps...When the gaps get bigger, there we are.

If you've got a track record of doing more with less, recessions are always a good time for you.

Re:They just don't get it.

[TheRaven64]

There are three kinds of people who fund open source development:

• Those selling complementary products / services.
• Those who actually need the software.
• Those developing in their spare time to pad their CVs.

There are likely to be more unemployed people in a recession so those looking for some form of differentiator to make their own CV more attractive will be more common. Those who need the software will continue developing (or paying third parties to develop it) it, because they have no other choice. They may even become more common since open source development is more efficient than off-the-shelf development and can be introduced as a cost-cutting measure by companies looking to reduce expenditure in a recession.

Those selling complementary products, like IBM, might well cut back. They likely invest a fixed portion of their profits in open source development and if their profits drop then so will this investment. They may increase it to try to spend their way out of the recession, but it's unlikely. The fact that they aren't the only people paying for the development might well mean that they consider that they can cut back a lot and still retain good open source products to build solutions on top of.

Re:They just don't get it.

[Otter]

Did Linus start programming Linux because he was bored with working with all the fancy Unix code people were throwing at him? No! He started it because he couldn't afford the expensive stuff, so he damn well made his own.

Linus did not decide to write an operating system because he couldn't afford Minix or Xenix. That would have been crazy.

Re:Depends on your definition

[MightyMartian]

Open source kept trucking through the tech bubble's collapse in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I'd say it's impossible for there not to be an impact, but I don't think it's going to be that huge.

Let's also remember here that this recession, if it is indeed one, seems largely contained to the United States. There's a whole big world out there, and for companies that have become major sellers of support and services around open source like IBM, there are other places to go.

Re:Open Source Work for Hire?

[yuna49]

In the US, working on a project for an employer constitutes a "work-for-hire" under the terms of the Copyright Act, specifically 17 USC 201(b). The employer owns the rights in these cases, not the coders. You'd have to have negotiated a specific contract with the employer in advance granting you copyright, which I doubt rarely happens in practice.