mediamaisteri group 2008 © 03.04.09 open source community and business - how to make it work?...

03.04.09Mediamaisteri Group 2008©

Open source community and business - how to make it

work?

Mediamaisteri Group

PL 82 (Yliopistonkatu 58D)

33101 Tampere, Finland

www.mediamaisteri.com

Timo Väliharju CEO of


Mediamaisteri Group

• One of the leading open source e-learning and HRD vendor in Europe

• Established in 2000 in Tampere, Finland• Offices are located in Tampere, Hämeenlinna,

Turku, Helsinki• 30 employees• Turnover 1,6 Million Eur (2009-2010)


Open Source Projects – Success?

• Linux (different versions)• Open Office• MySQL• Moodle• Elgg• Magento• OsCommerce• vTiger• etc...


Open Source business models

Deployment (distribution)•Sales, Distribution, Support and counsulting services•Franchising model

Hybridization•Dual licensing•Probierory procuct failed/not good business> OS to boost business

Complements•Hardware + OS (LTSP)•Save money with OS by using OS components as a part of the HW product

Self-Service•End users (could be also a company) create productin order to save money


Open Source - Challenges to focus in

• Credibility of Open Source is some regions

• SME`s financial status to in usually weak comparing to the risk

• How to organize the community in a way that community benefits enhance individual participation?

• How to organize community development process?

• How to develop a business model based on community?

• How to put developed business model in action?


Open Source – Challenges to focus in

• Differences of the legislation of the home market and the target market

• Difficult to find competent and trustworthy staff from the target region

• Language and cultural challenges

• Localization and customer dependent tailoring

• Finding clients on target market

• Finding partners in target market

• IPR issues

• Lack of references in target market


The Essence of Open Source

• Some propietary vendors consciusly confuse customers by using open in confusing context

• Some think that Open Source is not business model but only a smart way to share product development costs

• Mediamaisteri Group uses OS:– As community based product development

in order to save costs – Because the cost structure of an OS

model (development and distribution) gives a possibility to organise business value chain in a way that all parties can benefit


The Essence of Open Source

• In probietary model sales provision for example 30% and 70% to the company that owns all rights

• In OS ”sales provision” 0%-10% depeding how the revelue model is constructed

• Basic nature of an Open Source concept is global and more user/partner driven and natural process

– In every country business support programs to push companies to global????

• Viral distribution model saves a lot of marketing costs


The Essence of Open Source Community

Success rate will be high if:

- Launched product is innovative

- Gives new perspectives to the process it is solving or is solving a new problem

- Quality of SW and UI is high (look and feel)

- Everyone sees in 2 seconds what the product is and how it will help users (Can this be really true - effect)

- Needed resources to keep community active

- Controlling the community and sustaining it!

- Product is 90% of the success story > if the product works it is difficult to fail


The Essence of Open Source Community

- There has to always be moral and ethical perspective that how this community makes the world a better place to live!

- Customer or user benefits are not any more only valid value proposition that makes the concept work

- Who controls the community usually controls the business

- Licence: Open or propietory

- In General: As a company you need to have a very good understanding of community administration,

motivational aspects of the individuals, community size and structure, developmental traditions and ideology behind community


Mediamaisteri Group and Moodle

• Moodle project to public community in August 2002

• Mediamaisteri joined October 2002• First client December 2002• Now almost 200 clients and over 200 000 users• No Moodle partnership• One of the world biggest Moodle service

providers


Experiences of working in Moodle community

• First it was like a small and enthusiastic family• One key developer in MMG• Installation, hosting, training, tailoring, content to

the customers• Development of several tools to Moodle • LMS market share 2002 0% (Finland) > 2006

LMS market leader• 2003 MMG hired second key developer from the

Moodle.org (Finnish person that was developing Moodle as a hobby)

• 2002-2007 we did a lots of tools to Moodle from customer point of view > some are still operational in global distribution


Thank you!

CEO Timo Väliharju

Mediamaisteri Group

[email protected]

mediamaisteri group 2008 © 03.04.09 open source community and business - how to make it work?...

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