I meant to ask about the prime advantages of running an opensource software project to earn revenue. Could someone provide me with some real time instances? Thank you
I meant to ask about the prime advantages of running an opensource software project
Share
It depends on what your project is.
For example if your project is a library of some sort, you can resort to dual licensing – release source code under GPL or any other viral OSS license) for those who want to use it in their open-source projects. And sell it to people/companies who want to use it in proprietary (closed-source) applications.
This requires consent from everyone who contributed to the source code though (which can be extremely tricky/impossible to obtain).
Or if you have frequented website, you can put some ads there to generate revenue.
However generating revenue (for purpose of obtaining money) goes a little bit against the spirit of free software. If you need money for project maintenance, there is a chance you could do with donations from users (especially if you have established community of users).
EDIT: See these articles: Business models for open source software and Commercial open source software.