FOSS4G - The Intersection of Geospatial Open Source and Commerce
Channel: FOSS4G
Date: 24/10/2021

FOSS4G conferences have helped generate interest in, and adoption of free and open source geospatial tools. Whether it is the business-to-business conference events, or the support of commercial organizations sponsoring FOSS4G conferences, it is clear that commercial interests and open source communities intersect in a variety of ways. This talk aims to describe several of the different paths that commercial organizations take to leverage free and open technologies for business success. The following three real world examples will illustrate these paths:

Very small organizations providing FOSS4G consulting and training services
Product companies including FOSS4G tools in powering niche products
Platform companies that have built their platforms upon open source frameworks
The case study examples will include further details including how my current employer utilizes open source technology. Finally, the talk will speculate on why large, commercial companies such as Google, routinely open source their own technologies such as Kubernetes and other geospatial examples.

This presentation looks plainly at the business aspects of the FOSS4G ecosystem. In short, how does free and open source software for geospatial help cultivate business success and sustain livelihoods?

Authors and Affiliations –
Michael Terner, Hexagon, USA

Track –
Use cases & applications

Topic –
Business powered by FOSS4G

Level –
1 - Principiants. No required specific knowledge is needed.

Language of the Presentation –
English