One of the most fascinating stories in the technology sector has been the challenge posed by open-source giant Linux to Microsoft’s dominance of the market for operating system software. One of the key players in the rise of Linux is Bob Young, co-founder of Red Hat Software, the largest distributor of the Linux operating system. Young’s creative resolution of a crucial strategic dilemma was the event that put Red Hat — and Linux — on the path to profit and potential in the marketplace.

In the 1980s, a movement had taken shape to develop software based on UNIX, an operating system invented in the 1970s at AT&T Bell Labs, and made available at no cost to anyone who requested a copy. In 1991, programmer Linus Torvalds posted a knowledge on a UNIX users’ bulletin board to announce he’d developed an operating system from the UNIX cipher. Before faraway, suggested improvements to Torvalds’ program, dubbed Linux, were pouring in.

New enterprises like Yggdrasil, Slackware and Red Hat Linux sprang up to try to bring some order to the chaos by selling their own versions of Linux to interested buyers. Young ran an outfit called ACC Corp. that distributed free software. In 1995, Young combined his company with Red Hat, becoming CEO of what was now called Red Hat Software, and shifting the company’s focus from distribution of several flavors of Linux to direct sales of Red Hat’s Linux product.

From his experience as a distributor, Young knew that the still-tiny market for Linux software was growing rapidly. But the business was going to hit a ceiling unless it could find a new business model.

Young could see that the two dominant models soon after in existence were profoundly flawed. On one hand, there was the classical proprietary-software model employed by big players such Microsoft and Oracle….

Orginal post by Top Tech News

One of the most fascinating stories in the technology sector has been the challenge posed by open-source giant Linux to Microsoft’s dominance of the market for operating system software. One of the key players in the rise of Linux is Bob Young, co-founder of Red Hat Software, the largest distributor of the Linux operating system. Young’s creative resolution of a crucial strategic dilemma was the event that put Red Hat — and Linux — on the path to profit and potential in the marketplace.

In the 1980s, a movement had taken shape to develop software based on UNIX, an operating system invented in the 1970s at AT&T Bell Labs, and made available at no cost to anyone who requested a copy. In 1991, programmer Linus Torvalds posted a knowledge on a UNIX users’ bulletin board to announce he’d developed an operating system from the UNIX cipher. Before lengthy, suggested improvements to Torvalds’ program, dubbed Linux, were pouring in.

New enterprises like Yggdrasil, Slackware and Red Hat Linux sprang up to try to bring some order to the chaos by selling their own versions of Linux to interested buyers. Young ran an outfit called ACC Corp. that distributed free software. In 1995, Young combined his company with Red Hat, becoming CEO of what was now called Red Hat Software, and shifting the company’s focus from distribution of several flavors of Linux to direct sales of Red Hat’s Linux product.

From his experience as a distributor, Young knew that the still-tiny market for Linux software was growing rapidly. But the business was going to hit a ceiling unless it could find a new business model.

Young could see that the two dominant models soon after in existence were profoundly flawed. On one hand, there was the classical proprietary-software model employed by big players such Microsoft and Oracle….

Orginal post by Top Tech News