That's why many startups choose to combine open-source software with proprietary software, and then carve out their niche, for instance by targeting smaller companies with a less complex and costly product, as JasperSoft is doing with its open-source business intelligence software, Wight said.
But the mix of open-source and in-house proprietary software also raises the issue of how open a company that labels itself open source really is, according to Charles Nicholls, founder and chief executive officer of business intelligence vendor SeeWhy Software. "This is a debate we're having constantly in our company," he said.
The fifth question that Davidson posed -- Can startups keep the open-source spirit alive while striving to make money? -- drew an answer from IBM, one of the world's largest IT companies and also a major contributor to the open-source community.
Money talks, conceded Adam Jollans, open-source software strategy manager at IBM, but the good thing is, not all developers are listening.
"Engineers aren't always after money," Jollans said. "Many of them want peer group recognition, which the open-source community provides. Community recognition is a huge motivating factor; industry won't be able to choke this."
The one-day Open Source Forum was hosted by the Hasso Plattner Institute for Software Systems Engineering in Potsdam, together with IBM and Deutsche Telekom.
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