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At IBM's expense; its lawyers worked with the Apache group to create a legal framework
around it so that there would be no copyright or liability problems for companies;
like IBM; that wanted to build applications on top of Apache and charge money for
them。 IBM saw the value in having a standard vanilla Web server architecture…which
allowed
90
heterogeneous computer systems and devices to talk to each other; displaying e…mail
and Web pages in a standard format…that was constantly being improved for free by
an open…source community。 The Apache collaborators did not set out to make free
software。 They set out to solve a common problem…Web serving…and found that
collaborating for free in this open…source manner was the best way to assemble the
best brains for the job they needed done。
〃When we started working with Apache; there was an apache。org Web site but no formal
legal structure; and businesses and informal structures don't coexist well;〃 said
Swainson。 〃You need to be able to vet the code; sign an agreement; and deal with
liability issues。 'Today' anybody can download the Apache code。 The only obligation
is that they acknowledge that it came from the site; and if they make any changes
that they share them back。〃 There is an Apache development process that manages the
traffic; and you earn your way into that process; added Swainson。 It is something
like a pure meritocracy。When IBM started using Apache; it became part of the community
and started making contributions。
Indeed; the one thing the Apache people demanded in return for their collaboration
with IBM was that IBM assign its best engineers to join the Apache open…source group
and contribute; like everyone else; for free。 〃The Apache people were not interested
in payment of cash;〃 said Swainson。 〃They wanted contribution to the base。 Our
engineers came to us and said; 'These guys who doApache are good andthey are insisting
that we contribute good people。' At first they rejected some of what we contributed。
They said it wasn't up to their standards! The compensation that the community
expected was our best contribution。〃
On June 22; 1998; IBM announced plans to incorporate Apache into its own new Web server
product; named WebSphere。 The way the Apache collaborative community organized itself;
whatever you took out of Apache's code and improved on; you had to give back to the
whole community。 But you were also free to go out and build a patented commercial
product on top of the Apache code; as IBM did; provided that you included a copyright
citation to Apache in your own patent。 In other words; this intellectual commons
approach to open…sourcing encour…
aged people to build commercial products on top of it。 While it wanted the foundation
to be free and open to all; it recognized that it would remain strong and fresh if
both commercial and noncommercial engineers had an incentive to participate。
Today Apache is one of the most successful open…source tools; powering about
two…thirds of the Web sites in the world。 And because Apache can be downloaded for
free anywhere in the world; people from Russia to South Africa to Vietnam use it to
create Web sites。 Those individuals who need or want added capabilities for their
Web servers can buy products like WebSphere; which attach right on top of Apache。
At the time; selling a product built on top of an open…source program was a risky
move on IBM's part。 To its credit; IBM was confident in its ability to keep producing
differentiated software applications on top of the Apache vanilla。 This model has
since been widely adopted; after everyone saw how it propelled IBM's Web server
business to commercial leadership in that category of software; generating huge
amounts of revenue。
As I will repeat often in this book: There is no future in vanilla for most companies
in a flat world。 A lot of vanilla making in software and other areas is going to shift
to open…source communities。 For most companies; the commercial future belongs to
those who know how to make the richest chocolate sauce; the sweetest; lightest whipped
cream; and the juiciest cherries to sit on top; or how to put them all together into
a sundae。 Jack Messman; chairman of the Novell software company; which has now become
a big distributor of Linux; the open…source operating system; atop which Novell
attaches gizmos to make it sing and dance just for your company; put it best:
〃Commercial software companies have to start operating further up the 'software'
stack to differentiate themselves。 The open source community is basically focusing
on infrastructure〃 (Financial Times; June 14; 2004)。
The IBM deal was a real watershed。 Big Blue was saying that it believed in the
open…source model and that with the Apache Web server; this open…source community
of engineers had created something that was not just useful and valuable but 〃best
in its class。〃 That's why the open…source movement has become a powerful flattener;
the effects of which we are just beginning to see。 〃It is incredibly empowering of
indi…
viduals;〃 Brian Behlendorf said。 〃It doesn't matter where you come from or where you
are…someone in India and South America can be just as effective using this software
or contributing to it as someone in Silicon Valley。〃 The old model is winner take
all: I wrote it; I own it…the standard software license model。 〃The only way to compete
against that;〃 concluded Behlendorf; 〃is to all become winners。〃
Behlendorf; for his part; is betting his career that more and more people and companies
will want to take advantage of the new flat…world platform to do open…source
innovation。 In 2004; he started a new company called CollabNet to promote the use
of open…sourcing asa tool to drive software innovation within companies。 〃Our premise
is that software is not gold; it is lettuce…it is a perishable good;〃 explained
Behlendorf。 〃If the software is not in a place where it is getting improved over time;
it will rot。〃 What the open…source community has been doing; said Behlendorf; is
globally coordinated distributed software development; where it is constantly
freshening the lettuce so that it never goes rotten。 Behlendorfs premise is that the
open…source community developed a better method for creating and constantly updating
software。 CollabNet is a company created to bring the best open…source techniques
to a closed community; i。e。; a commercial software company。
〃CollabNet is an arms dealer to the forces flattening the world;〃 said Behlendorf。
〃Our role in this world is to build the tools and infrastructure so that an individual
…in India; China; or wherever…as a consultant; an employee; or just someone sitting
at home can collaborate。 We are giving them the toolkit for decentralized
collaborative development。 We are enabling bottom…up development; and not just in
cyberspace 。 。 。 We have large corporations who are now interested in creating a
bottom…up environment for writing software。 The old top…down; silo software model
is broken。 That system said; 'I develop something and then I throw it over the w