TFN: Open S ource and
Innovation
Ch ange in pe rspe ctive s
Th e pre vail
ing pe rspe ctive is th at ope n
sou rce is ab ou t softw are w h ich is de -
ve l
ope d by ge e k s w h o w ork for fre e . Th is
is an incorre ct pe rspe ctive of w h at ope n
sou rce is ab ou t and m u st ch ange . U nde r
th e l
e ade rsh ip, stru ctu re and gove rnance
of ope n sou rce proje cts, individu al
s, com -
panie s, and organiz ations produ ce ope n
sou rce softw are , inte grate d circu its, prin-
te d circu it b oards, standards, pl
atform s,
conte nt, scie ntific k now l
e dge , and w ork -
fl
ow s.
Th e vie w th at ge e k s de ve l
op ope n sou rce
for fre e is incom pl
e te . M u l
tinational
s
su ch as IBM , H e w l
e tt Pack ard, O racl
e , In-
te l
, Nok ia and m any oth e r com panie s as
w e l
l
as gove rnm e nt organiz ations pay
th e ir e m pl
oye e s and contractors to con-
trib u te to ope n sou rce proje cts.
O pe n sou rce is not ju st ab ou t softw are for
nich e m ark e ts. Com panie s ope rating in
th e au tom otive , airl
ine s, te l
e com m u nica-
tions, m e dia, e du cation and oth e r indu s-
trie s b e ne fit from th e u se of ope n sou rce
asse ts.
Top m anage m e nt te am s of O ntario te ch -
nol
ogy com panie s b e l
ie ve th at com pany
inte ractions w ith ope n sou rce proje cts
are ab ou t de cre asing de ve l
opm e nt costs
and sh orte ning tim e - to- m ark e t. Th is pe r-
spe ctive is incom pl
e te . Top m anage m e nt
te am s are b e com ing aw are th at ope n
sou rce asse ts and proce sse s can b e com e
pow e rfu l
com pe titive tool
s for com panie s
to appropriate val
u e co- cre ate d w ith oth -
e rs and re du ce th e advantage s of l
arge
m u l
tinational
com panie s. W h e n com -
pare d to O ntario com panie s, U S com pan-
ie s are l
arge r, h ave l
arge r h om e m ark e ts,
l
ow e r financing costs, and gre ate r acce ss
to ve ntu re capital
. O pe n sou rce offe rs to
re du ce th e scal
e and financing advant-
age s U S com panie s h ave ove r O ntario
com panie s. O pe n sou rce is m ore ab ou t a
ne w com pe titive e nvironm e nt th an it is
ab ou t fre e softw are .
TFN Contacts
Com pany affil
iate s: Row l
and Fe w
rfe w @ sce .carl
e ton.ca)
Le ad proje cts: Pe te r H oddinott
pe te rh @ sce .carl
e ton.ca
Know l
e dge de ve l
opm e nt: Tony Bail
e tti
b ail
e tti@ sce .carl
e ton.ca
Know l
e dge disse m ination: Lu c Lal
ande
Lu c Lal
ande @ carl
e ton.ca
Tony Bail
e tti h ol
d s a te nu re d facu l
ty
appointm e nt in b oth th e D e partm e nt of
Syste m s and Com pu te r Engine e ring and
th e Eric Sprott Sch ool
of Bu sine ss at
Carl
e ton U nive rsity, l
ocate d in O ttaw a,
Canad a. Profe ssor Bail
e tti h as b e e n th e
D ire ctor of th e Te ch nol
ogy Innovation
M anage m e nt Program from 19 9 8 to 2005
and from 2006 to d ate . H e is al
so th e
D ire ctor of th e Tal
e nt First Ne tw ork and
th e Re se arch Ce ntre for Te ch nol
ogy
Innovation. H e w as th e D ire ctor of
Carl
e ton U nive rsity's Sch ool
of Bu sine ss
from 19 81 to 19 88 and w ork e d at Be l
l
-
North e rn Re se arch (tod ay a part of Norte l
)
from 19 88 to 19 9 2. Profe ssor Bail
e tti h as
pu b l
ish e d in e ngine e ring m anage m e nt
jou rnal
s su ch as IEEE Transactions on
Engine e ring M anage m e nt, Jou rnal
of
Prod u ct
Innovation
M anage m e nt,
Re se arch Pol
icy, and R & D M anage m e nt.
H e h as tau gh t for th e Exe cu tive M .B.A.
program offe re d b y Q u e e n's U nive rsity in
O ttaw a since 19 9 6. In 19 9 6 h e w on a
Carl
e ton U nive rsity Te ach ing Aw ard and
in 2007 a Lead e rsh ip Bre ak th rou gh
Aw ard .
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