The Benefits of Open Source and the Risks of Open Core

Chapter 3. What Is Open Core?

Open core consists of proprietary code mixed with open source code, usually provided in a convenient distribution or package for pay. The open source part is often labeled the community edition, demonstrating that the company recognizes the value of building a community around the project. (Terminology shifts over time, though.) The community edition is free for download and might be released along with tools that open source communities typically use to manage their projects. In order to meet the vendor’s goal of attracting users, the community edition should be a coherent piece of software that performs a set of the desired operations, sometimes rich in features and sometimes lacking.

The proprietary features are released separately with a proprietary license and have often been sold under the label enterprise edition. The name suggests that you had better use this edition if you run a business that depends on the software. Vendors can be very sophisticated in evaluating community and enterprise needs: for instance, the enterprise edition may add useful scheduling, modeling, analysis, security, high availability, and other tools that enterprises want.

Because (as the term open core suggests), the open source community edition contains a lot of core functionality, it is attractive to academic environments, tinkerers, learners, and small businesses that can get something from its functions without the enterprise features. The vendor hopes that community ...