Open Source Economy

An entry over at linux insider talks about the current boom that the open source market is experiencing despite the global recession. Even in difficult financial times, the open source market continues to display positive numbers. Is open source absolutely bullet-proof no matter what the global economic state is? Absolutely not. Large companies are not going to use a product or service simply because it is free. It needs to solve a real world problem and it needs to do it well.

As stated in the entry, the fact that open source software is free isn't the only determinant driving the open source market. Could this recession act as a gateway for those of us who are still timid in the face of open source? Absolutely yes. And it will only perpetuate further as more and more companies become aware of others thriving on open source.

One question that is difficult to answer is will it last? One would like to hope so although such a question would be nearly impossible to answer at this point. If one thing is clear, it is that this recession could be an important point in the open source movement's history.