Business models in FLOSS-based companies

The sustainability of Free/Libre/Open Source Software (FLOSS) has recently become an important aspect of the overall open source phenomenon, and as such has received a significant research attention. Since 1999, several articles addressed the role of licenses, communities and business models in FLOSS-based companies, but mostly from a theoretical point of view. In this article, we present the result of a detailed analysis of 80 FLOSS-based companies and business models, using publicly available data on service offers, mailing list archives, online articles and when available public financial data. The result is a simplified and effective classification that can be used as a guide to companies willing to offer services in the same area, and an analysis on how the community process is influenced by the choice of licensing and business model.