소프트웨어 유통에 있어 공개소프트웨어 중개자의필요성에 대한 연구

A Study on the necessity of Open Source Software Intermediaries in the Software Distribution Channel

Purpose – The development and implementation of OSS (Open Source Software) led to a dramatic change in corporate IT infrastructure, from system server to smart phone, because the performance, reliability, and security functions of OSS are comparable to those of commercial software. Today, OSS has become an indispensable tool to cope with the competitive business environment and the constantly-evolving IT environment. However, the use of OSS is insufficient in small and medium-sized companies and software houses. This study examines the need for OSS Intermediaries in the Software Distribution Channel. It is expected that the role of the OSS Intermediary will be reduced with the improvement of the distribution process. The purpose of this research is to prove that OSS Intermediaries increase the efficiency of the software distribution market. Research design, Data, and Methodology – This study presents the analysis of data gathered online to determine the extent of the impact of the intermediaries on the OSS market. Data was collected using an online survey, conducted by building a personal search robot (web crawler). The survey period lasted 9 days during which a total of 233,021 data points were gathered from sourceforge.net and Apple's App store, the two most popular software intermediaries in the world. The data collected was analyzed using Google's Motion Chart. Results – The study found that, beginning 2006, the production of OSS in the Sourceforge.net increased rapidly across the board, but in the second half of 2009, it dropped sharply. There are many events that can explain this causality; however, we found an appropriate event to explain the effect. It was seen that during the same period of time, the monthly production of OSS in the App store was increasing quickly. The App store showed a contrasting trend to software production. Our follow-up analysis suggests that appropriate intermediaries like App store can enlarge the OSS