Open Source for Geospatial: What’s it mean? Trends

What does this trend in open source software mean for the geospatial business? I’ve had this question asked of me a few times this week.

Data point: Oracle buys Sleepycat Software. Sleepycat is an open source database company. Why would they do this? I think it is to sell more services and niche applications. Sleepycat sells both a commerical version of their database as well as a free, open source version.

Now, this by itself has no true bearing on geospatial technology. But it is an interesting acquisition. Look at it this way: What if more geospatial companies, in addition to what Autodesk has done with MapGuide, decided to put their products into the open source hopper or decide to build solutions on open source instead of their own technology. Why would they do this?

1. Offer more solution options: MapInfo, Intergraph, and Autodesk have all professed their desire to provide "complete solutions" for their customers…not just COTS. Why not distribute the code for MapInfo Professional or GeoMedia into the open source category. Could they leverage this strategy to sell more services? Possibly.
2. Avert competitive threats: I think the days of selling boxes of GIS or desktop mapping software as the primary revenue generating source for larger companies are quickly evaporating. There are too many online alternatives available that are taking their place. Have you seen the list of products and data options offered by Claritas? The list is a mile long and very industry specific. Use free, open source technology from the open source grab bag (not just their own software) as a unique angle to win business against a competitor. Again, the objective is to offer more options in case a customer "demands" open source.
3. The train has left the station: A few years ago there were just a few open source geospatial options. GRASS, PostGIS, etc. But this list is growing all the time. Perhaps it’s an inevitable trend?

MapServer Community Votes to Join OSGeo

After the MapServer Technical Committee passed a Request for Comment on the matter, it was put to a vote of the wider community that ended today. The results: 74 in favor, 1 opposed.

The MapServer Project will now move to join the OSGeo, with the interm Foundation board figuring out as it goes, how do to that. Says Steve Lime in his post of the news, “To be sure, it will involve combing over the MapServer codebase to address any potential intellectual property or copyright issues.” There’s much discussion of that and other matters on Foundation discussion thread. If you are interested, that’s the place to hang out.

Another tidbit: the OSGeo website is up and running.

And, finally, Directions Magazine‘s open source columnist, Kevin Flanders, weighs in on the meeting in article titled, “A Meeting of the Minds.”

Should We Join OSGF?

In the spirit of being open and tranparent, Howard Butler put forward a Request for Comments (RFC) document outling benefits/concerns regarding joining the Open Source Geospatial Foundation. It passed with a +7 vote of the MapServer Technical Committe (MSTC) yesterday. I can shed light on the +7. A la Apache, those permitted to vote offer -1 if they are “against”, 0 if they have no opinion and +1 if they are “for.” Add up the votes and you get a value. So, all seven members voted +1, making it unanimous “for.”

The second part of the process to join OSGF, as outlined by Butler, is a poll that asks the community to offer an opinion. It’s open to registered members until Friday. If a majority votes yes, the motion is considered passed.

-via Spatial Galaxy

If you’ve not read it, consider a slightly different dilemma from the PostGIS/uDig developers/community as described by Paul Ramsey of Refractions Research.

OS Databases and OS Geospatial

This quote is from Sony and comes from a BusinessWeek article on open source databases cited by Slashdot:

The databases work fine, but as data volume grows, so do the checks to Oracle, IBM, or Microsoft. Many users aren’t clamoring for more features, and some don’t even use the bells and whistles they already paid for. They would happily trade some to get their hands on the source code and a better deal.

I’ll maintain that with a few tweaks to it, it fits geospatial too:

The GISs work fine, but as data volume grows, so do the checks to ESRI, Intergraph or MapInfo. Many users aren’t clamoring for more features, and some don’t even use the bells and whistles they already paid for. They would happily trade some to get their hands on the source code and a better deal.

Open Source Geospatial Foundation Meeting Recap

I’ve posted a summary, including remarks from one of the twenty-five people at the meeting held on Saturday in Chicago, over at Directions Magazine. I’ll add my voice to those impressed with how well the meeting was run, and what was accomplished. Full steam ahead for OsGeo!