EclipseÂ’s origin straddles both business and technology, making it unique among leading open source projects. For example, the need for RCP was driven by a requirement to enable operating system portability that was core to IBMÂ’s overall marketing message. EclipseÂ’s commercial focus presents a unique set of opportunities (and potential problems) for companies looking to succeed in an increasingly important and rapidly evolving landscape.
This presentation will start by looking at how Wall Street thinks about different types of business models. WeÂ’ll survey coming changes in what IT buyers need and how that may impact overall Eclipse demand. We will also look at changes in the commercial software business model that are overturning some long-held assumptions about how to succeed in software. WeÂ’ll look at the evolution of open source business models in general, focusing on unique features of the Eclipse ecosystem that impact how Eclipse members need to operate. Finally, weÂ’ll look at competitorsÂ’ potential responses to Eclipse and its ecosystem from a business strategy point of view.
This presentation is targeted at business decision makers needing to understand more about how their business requirements and the world of Eclipse match up. Though the Wall Street perspective is most immediately useful for publicly traded companies, this talk can provide background for smaller companies about what outside investors want to see. This may also be useful for product architects looking to make technology decisions based on an even broader understanding of how to make their companies and their customers successful.