Open source Saas [closed]

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I've seen recently a couple of commercial services make their code open source. Some examples are cloud9 ide and reddit. Of course, Wordpress comes to mind. It has been an OSS - since I dunno when - under the GPl (like cloud9) with a parallel service that charges for 'features' or premium stuff. (full list)

So the question is:

1. Is it safe to open source an application (under GPL) and use it to power a Saas that charges for the 'services' it provides on top of that app?

2. What are the pros and cons of doing it?

3. Does it actually make sense? :)

I just love open source and would like to open source some of my projects, while generating some revenue out of it. Thus my concern!

Thank you very much for your help fellas!

Answer 1

No open source licence prevents you from charging for software or services. The GPL simply says that if you distribute a modified version of some GPL software then your modifications must also be released under the GPL. It does not say that you must distribute your modified version at all if you don't want to, only that if you do then you must do so under the GPL.

The "Affero GPL" goes further than this and says that if you use AGPL software to drive a network service then you must release any modifications you make to the software under the AGPL as well. In other words, providing public access to a service is treated the same as distributing the software.

Of course, if you are the copyright holder for (all parts of) the software in question then you are free to release and/or use it under whatever licences you choose. You can release it (A)GPL but also provide the option of a commercial licence, or release your core software as AGPL but then run your own service that adds your own proprietary extensions whose code you do not release - an open source licence says "anyone can use this software under [GPL/Apache/whatever] conditions without asking for specific permission" but you as copyright holder can grant other licences for specific people/cases, including (obviously) yourself.

Answer 2

FWIF by releasing source of your SaaS you loose "security by obscurity". Everyone can see you're running outdated version of framework and look for security related tickets for this version. On the flip side this forces you to think about proper security, e.g. running up to date version of libraries.