新兴开源软件公司瞄准IPO

Can big businesses be built on the idea of giving away software free of charge?

能否靠免费分发软件来建立大企业？

That paradox has stumped some of Silicon Valley’s smartest investors since “open source” software broke on to the tech scene, with the rise of the Linux operating system 15 years ago.

自15年前Linux操作系统崛起、“开放源代码”（open source，简称：开源）软件打破科技行业格局以来，这种看似自相矛盾的想法已经难倒了硅谷(Silicon Valley)的一些最聪明的投资者。

Red Hat, which grew by selling maintenance and support to companies that used Linux, is now worth nearly $14bn. But other hopefuls fell by the wayside — even as open-source came to infiltrate many parts of the IT world, thanks to projects such as Linux and the Apache software used in most web servers.

靠向使用Linux的企业出售维护和支持服务而发家的红帽公司(Red Hat)，如今的市值已接近140亿美元。但其他怀揣这种希望的公司却折戟沉沙，尽管开源软件已渗透到IT界的多个方面（这种渗透得益于在网页服务器上广泛应用的Linux和Apache等项目）。

Now, investors are lining up to have another go, as a new breed of open source companies report rising revenues and plan initial public offerings. And this time, they think they have better ways of turning the popularity of open source into profits.

如今，随着新一类开源软件公司纷纷报出不断增长的收入并筹划首次公开发行(IPO)，投资者正排着队准备再次碰碰运气。这一次，他们自认为有更好的办法将开源软件的人气转化为利润。

Open source software companies rely on networks of volunteer developers to help write their code and build an initial user base. They then aim to turn users into customers, giving the software away free while selling support services or add-ons.

开源软件公司依赖志愿开发者圈子来帮助它们编写代码和建立最初的用户群。它们接下来的目标是把用户转化为客户，在免费分发软件的同时出售支持服务或其他附加服务。

Unfortunately for the upstarts, many big tech companies have co-opted open source themselves, to fill gaps in their own technology — and have added support for the code to their own business plans.

对初创公司来说遗憾的是，很多大型科技公司已自己新上马了开源项目，来填补自身技术上的空白，并且已把开源代码支持服务加入到它们自己的商业计划中。

Even Oracle and Microsoft, the most directly threatened by free software, have adjusted their strategies to accommodate aspects of open source.

即便是受自由软件直接威胁最大的甲骨文(Oracle)和微软(Microsoft)，也已调整自身战略，以适应开源技术的各个方面。

However, while the first wave of open source relied on making free versions of existing programs without adding much new, Mike Volpi, a partner at venture capital firm Index Ventures says new approaches are emerging with the growth of cloud computing and “big data” analysis. He says that some developments in open source software are not being matched in the traditional world of commercial code.

不过，第一波开源浪潮依赖于生成既有程序的免费版本而不增添太多新东西，而据风投公司Index Ventures的合伙人米凯•沃尔皮(Mike Volpi)表示，随着云计算和“大数据”分析的发展，新的做法正不断涌现出来。他说，开源软件领域的一些新生事物在传统的收费软件界找不到对应体。

For example, Hadoop — code developed at Yahoo before it was released in open source form — is becoming a foundational technology for the era of big data. Hadoop was designed to handle the masses of data stored in the sort of distributed computing systems pioneered by large internet companies and now found in wider corporate use.

例如，Hadoop（其代码是在雅虎(Yahoo!)开发的，而后在开源论坛发布）正逐渐成为大数据时代的基础性技术之一。Hadoop旨在处理储存在分布式计算系统上的海量数据，这种系统的首批使用者是大型互联网公司，如今已在企业界得到更广泛的应用。

Earlier this year, Cloudera, one of the companies trying to build a business on Hadoop, declared itself the second open source company to hit $100m in annual revenue, after Red Hat.

今年早些时候，试图在Hadoop平台上建立业务的Cloudera，宣称自己是继红帽之后第二家年收入达1亿美元的开源软件公司。

Open source is also proliferating in databases designed to support applications that run in the cloud. MongoDB, the standard-bearer for this wave of so-called NoSQL database companies, was valued at nearly $2bn in a round of fundraising earlier this year. Along with Cloudera — which has raised $1.2bn, much of it from Intel, and been valued privately at more than $4bn — it is at the forefront of a wave of IPOs anticipated for next year.

一些数据库也大量采用开源技术，这些数据库旨在支撑在云端运行的应用。作为这波所谓NoSQL数据库公司中的领袖，MongoDB在今年早些时候的一轮融资中被估值为将近20亿美元。该公司与Cloudera（Cloudera已融资12亿美元，其中许多来自英特尔(Intel)，私下的估值已逾40亿美元）一道，均处在预期明年将到来的一波IPO潮的最前沿。

Critics, though, point to the past failure of open source developers to make much of a dent in the sector. Their technology “is not tested, it’s not hardened, and they have this new business model that’s totally unproven”, says Gary Bloom, chief executive of MarkLogic, a NoSQL company that still takes the traditional approach of selling licences to its products.

但批评人士指出，开源开发者过去并没能在该行业中留下多少印记。MarkLogic首席执行官加里•布卢姆(Gary Bloom)称，这些开发者的技术“未经检验，并不可靠，而且他们的这种新商业模式完全未经验证”。MarkLogic是一家仍走传统路线的NoSQL公司，依靠的是出售自己产品的许可证。

MarkLogic’s own revenues last year were “well north of $100m” and the 14-year-old company is also eying an IPO, he adds.

布卢姆补充称，去年MarkLogic的年收入“远超过1亿美元”，而且这家创办了14年的公司也在考虑举行IPO。

In recent years, though, being able to reach a mass user base with free software proved a bigger lure — even if turning reach into revenue has been a challenge. “If the cost of entry to our technology was $100,000 a server, not many people would be in a position to use it,” argues Kelly Stirman, head of strategy at Mongo. There are “hundreds of thousands of deployments” of the company’s free software, he says, though it has only 2,000 paying customers.

但是，最近几年的事实证明，能用自由软件来与海量用户群建立联系是一个更大的诱惑——尽管如何把这种联系转化为收入一直是个难题。Mongo战略主管凯利•斯蒂尔曼(Kelly Stirman)称：“如果使用我们技术的成本是每台服务器10万美元，有财力用的人恐怕不会太多。”他说，该公司的自由软件有“数十万使用者”，尽管付费客户只有2000个。

Ben Golub, chief executive of open source company Docker, suggests the new wave of developers have learnt the lessons of the past and are adding commercial tools and services to the mix.

开源软件公司Docker的首席执行官本•戈卢布(Ben Golub)认为，新一波的开发者已从历史中汲取了教训，他们正将收费工具和服务打包进来。

One opportunity lies in the need for add-on technologies to monitor and control IT systems. Mongo, for example, lets users run management software on eight servers free of charge, but makes them pay $50 a server to add more.

一个机遇在于客户对监控IT系统的附加技术的需求。例如，Mongo允许用户在8台服务器上免费运行管理软件，但用户每增加一台服务器需支付给它50美元。

A further opportunity comes from running the software on their own servers and providing a service to users through the cloud. Docker, for instance, sells a hosted service to small businesses that do not want to take on the work of managing their own IT.

另一个机遇在于，在它们自己的服务器上运行软件，并通过云向用户提供服务。举个例子，Docker向不愿承担管理自身IT工作的小企业提供收费托管服务。

Even so, some are still relying on the old model of offering free software but selling the maintenance and support. This is clearest in the Hadoop market, where Hortonworks — which last year became the first open source company since Red Hat to IPO — has stuck to the older business model in contrast to rivals Cloudera and MapR.

尽管如此，仍有一些公司依赖于提供自由软件但出售维护和支持服务的旧模式。这种情况在Hadoop市场最为明显：与竞争对手Cloudera和MapR相比，Hortonworks仍恪守比较老的商业模式。Hortonworks去年举行了IPO，成为红帽之后首家上市的开源软件公司。

Whatever their business model, the new generation of open source companies will have to move fast to avoid being crowded out by established tech giants.

无论它们的商业模式是怎样，新一代开源软件公司必须迅速采取行动，以避免被老牌的科技业巨头挤出局。

Big players’ influence is clearest in the development of OpenStack, a package of software designed as a foundation for cloud computing. IBM and Hewlett-Packard have turned to OpenStack to support their own ambitions against cloud companies including Amazon and Microsoft.

在OpenStack的开发方面，大玩家的影响力最为明显。OpenStack是一揽子软件，目的是成为云计算的基础。IBM和惠普(HP)已转而使用OpenStack来支撑其对抗亚马逊(Amazon)和微软等云企业的抱负。

“Everyone has an axe to grind on it,” says Mr Volpi, which has slowed progress. “There is a reasonable amount of frustration over the speed with which it is being implemented.”

“在这件事上，每个人都有自己的盘算，”沃尔皮表示，这拖慢了开源软件的进展。“人们对开源落实的速度有些沮丧。”

It may sound like an opportunity for focused open source companies. But history suggests that even if their software catches on, commercial success may be elusive.

这听起来也许是专注于开源软件的公司面临的一个机遇。但历史告诉我们，即使这些公司的软件受到人们的追捧，它们可能也难以取得商业上的成功。