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The Business of Open: Geospatial data, Open Source and OpenGeo. –Chris Holmes. Overview. The Business of Open Source Geospatial and Open OpenGeo’s approach Ideas for IGN. Open Source background. Basis is licensing All successful Open Source is because of community
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The Business of Open: Geospatial data, Open Source and OpenGeo –Chris Holmes
Overview • The Business of Open Source • Geospatial and Open • OpenGeo’s approach • Ideas for IGN
Open Source background • Basis is licensing • All successful Open Source is because of community • An asynchronous cooperative of code • Organizations that want the same thing can pool their resources • Cost is not 0, OS can be sold. • Real value comes when companies form mutually beneficial relationships with communities
Software Business before Open Source • Proprietary Software sold boxes of ‘software’ • Customer thought they were just buying the code, but there is far more to software: • Manuals, Support • Bug fixes, new features • Training, integration, custom solutions • Software companies made huge profit margins
Software Business after Open Source • High quality code is now free • A new class of Open Source companies has emerged • There is a market for everything around the code • Support, manuals, training, integration, additional development, services • Profit margins on code are lower and lower • Smart companies move up the value chain
Open Source Business Models • Collaborate on the pieces that everyone is needs (and might build themselves) • Sell the ‘whole package’, your special sauce with all the open parts • Can be hosted services, integration with others, special plugins, trainings, support, feature development • Some will just use code directly (and may contribute back). Others want a ‘solution’, and will pay to not worry
Opening of Geospatial Data • Everyone now sees the value of geospatial data • Navtec, Teleatlas sales, Google maps • But ability to sell base layer data is decreasing • Google is practically giving it away • OpenStreetMap is a pressure like Open Source Software • Segmenting of market - many don’t need high accuracy for their base.
Moving up the value chain • Towards services • IGN ‘special sauce’ is the data • Can get in to the services game before data is more open • While experimenting with crowd sourcing so your data acquisition cost is lower • There is still lots of space for innovative services
OpenGeo and Open Source • OpenGeo is hybrid social enterprise • Goal is to build the Open Geospatial Web • Work by building Open Source Software • Providing core feature improvement and Enterprise contracts
Towards a product OpenGeo Enterprise
IGN and Data business models • IGN is similar, needs business model to support itself • To make data, not software • Can start to provide services while data still has value • Services are the ‘full solution’ clients want, or at least are closer • Other value is being ‘authoritative’, guarantees of accuracy
Business models in a collaborative Geoportail • Custom Tiles • Hosting of Layers • Collaborative editing • ‘Authoritative’ layers • Bundled Software and data package • Subscriptions to updates • GIS-based applications
Custom Tiles • Let anyone customize base layers • Use an online styler • They can match the look and feel of their website • Google can’t offer this, always looks the same • Use EC2 or other burst hosting so they can pay to create tiles quickly
Collaborative editing • Let anyone crowdsource their data • Pay for advance workflows on hosted version • A sort of ‘sourceforge’ for the geo web in france • Free for people who release their data • Charge for those who make it private • Eventually a marketplace for private ones to sell to one another.
Hosting of Layers • Free for everyone to add some points or upload a small shapefile • Costs money for large information • Charge for secure access, when they want hosted data not open to the world • All available with online styling, with exporting maps • All exports have your logo and link back, unless people pay to have it be ‘theirs’
Authoritative and Subscriptions • IGN provides the stamp that ‘this is accurate’ • People want that so they can sue someone if it goes wrong • Free users can use a six month old dataset • Perhaps they can get new one if they help improve it, submit edits • Various services to get updates when they are marked official
Bundling Software • Combined software and data package • Built on Open Source Software, packaged nice for your data • Let anyone get set up quickly • (can partner with OpenGeo Enterprise packages)
GIS-based applications • Area that Google etc won’t touch directly • Create tools to let developers make rich GUI desktop-like applications that leverage GIS operations • But designed for their users who may not know ‘GIS’ • This is direction of GeoExt • Could do a hosted developer toolkit for apps based on IGN data • Wizard map app creation and developer focused components
Business Model warning • Be sure to not optimize for money making too early • If you have people pay for a service that is not that great they won’t come back • Get them hooked on a great service, spend time figuring out what that is. • Then start charging, after they’ve committed.
Towards user collaboration on GeoPortail • ‘Export’ - after composing a view let a user embed in a webpage or blog • Be sure to show logo and ‘created with IGN GeoPortail, make your own map!’ • Track stats on layers and exported maps, show page of most popular • Have search results of catalog based on those stats, and prioritize catalog results with layers you can add • Rating, tags and comments on ‘maps’ that people create • Let people remix other maps
Towards OpenGeo • From a side project of TOPP • To sustaining contract work • And the push to grow Grow!
The Client OpenLayers
Towards a Product Enterprise
Building the Open Geospatial Web • Making Geospatial Information Open and Accessible • By bringing Open Source Principles to Geo • Working by building OS software that gets used by all • In the context of a hybrid organization
The full solution OpenGeo Enterprise
Towards the ‘dot-org’ • Full Cost Recovery for OpenGeo • Spin off like Mozilla Corporation • Reinvest profit in similar ‘dot-orgs’ • Make Capital viral like the GPL • Require complete transparency • Business built on Open Source principles