Working Paper 24-038 The Value of Open Source Software Manuel Hoffmann Frank Nagle Yanuo Zhou (Harvard Business School)

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   Researchers at Harvard Business School and University of Toronto used unique data to quantify the value of open source.

   Takeways:

   * Supply-side (cost to recreate) is ~$4.15B, but demand-side (value to firms) is $8.8T. Shows massive cost savings & productivity boost from OSS.

   * If OSS didn't exist, firms would need to spend an estimated 3.5 times more on software than they currently do. OSS provides a massive, often invisible, productivity boost.

   * A tiny fraction of OSS developers create the vast majority of value. Only 5% of developers are responsible for over 96% of the demand-side value

   * Firms should not just "free ride" on OSS but actively contribute to the ecosystem, as this is far cheaper than recreating the software themselves.

   Source:
   https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/24-038_51f8444f-502c-4139-8bf2-56eb4b65c58a.pdf