Open Source Software Company Set to Earn $1 Billion

Greg Tito | The Escapist | September 22, 2011

Back in the 1990s, open source software was met with derision from traditional boxed software companies like Microsoft or Adobe. How can you make any money by giving away your product to anyone who wants it? Well, apparently the model of giving away a software suite and charging only for support and infrastructure works quite well, especially in an economy where businesses and individuals must cut costs wherever possible. The Raleigh-based Linux provider, Red Hat, announced today that its latest quarter revenues exceeded $281 million and that it is poised to make a billion dollars this year.

"Based on the strong first half results, we believe Red Hat remains well-positioned to finish fiscal 2012 as the first billion dollar open source software vendor," said Jim Whitehurst, head of Red Hat. The open-source movement has impacted gaming in a lot of ways and the success of Red Hat is yet another signal of what's to come. Wizards of the Coast - the makers of Dungeons & Dragon - made the bold move of giving away its D20 ruleset for free with the OSR to encourage innovations across the tabletop RPG landscape, subtly overtaking the market...