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To open source or not to open source? If you’re in the software business, this is a question you’re going to face at one point or another. The sooner you tackle it, the better.
The open-source movement is no underground phenomenon; it’s a fully mature and highly effective method of building software systems.
You’re likely running open-source software right now. Every time you use Google you’re using one of the largest and most successful open-source operating systems in the world – Linux. Today’s largest enterprises owe much of their success to the open-source movement — we’re all building on-top of, and borrowing from, each other’s work, and this has powered the era of exponential progress we’re living in.The big concern about going open-source, of course, is a loss of intellectual property. You go to great lengths to protect your IP, and, understandably, you likely don’t want to just give it away for free. But being part of the open-source software (OSS) community is not about diminishing profits or eroding the value of your IP – it’s about collaboration, and the idea that many hands make light work. Most participants don’t contribute the one thing that makes them unique to the world; instead, they contribute elements and building blocks that others can use to drive new ideas and products forward. In our case, we contribute necessary elements that assist in the creation of great VR content – but not our core IP around mobile delivery of these experiences. In this way, we’re helping to drive innovation and the development of new VR experiences but not providing so much as a hint of our own secret sauce.
Don’t be afraid to bet on yourself
As a movement, open source is truly compelling. In many ways, it’s diametrically opposed to the “dog-eat-dog” mentality of generations past. It is instead a “virtuous circle.” Those who participate are both…
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