Prior to our class, I had only ever heard of Mozilla Foxfire, and had actually never used it. Based on our discussions and my own reading, I have discovered that Mozilla is not only an alternative to more widely popular internet browsers; but it also operates on a unique business model - the Open Source model of operation and management. Open Source is of particular interest to me due to my past work experience. Having worked in Financial Services and now for the federal government, Open Source is the antithesis of the type of management model I have grown accustomed to. An Open Source organization such as the Mozilla Foundation is seemingly unique in that its decision – making and goods and services are the synthesis of full-time employees and volunteers.
It makes sense for an internet based company such as Mozilla to thrive in an open source business platform, because the internet is an open forum. Recently we have seen the influx of proprietary companies in the software industry because there is so much value in producing specialized software. With that expertise, comes the ability to generate lots of revenue. Open Source companies such as Mozilla make their money through advertising (with omnipresent capability on the internet.) Mozilla is the combination of employees and volunteers who equally participate (or so says Baker based on this article) in product development, decision making, coding, distribution and promotion. Mozilla emphasizes collaboration within its community structure by having a public Quality Control process and also “scaffolding” their coding and products. Scaffolding, allows designers/coders employee and volunteer alike, to build off of already existent products and codes. They do not have the onus of trying to reinvent, but rather improving what is in place. This type of structure seems to promote collaboration and innovation within the Mozilla family, as opposed to the competition, which is seen in many other businesses. While there is merit to competition, it seems as though the collaborative nature of Mozilla, supported by its open source model, has lent itself to its success.
There are two points in particular that I found the most interesting about the operation of the Mozilla Foundation. The first interesting point being that its business model (as stressed and supported by its Chairman Baker) is representative of a community. Within the community structure, I found it even more intriguing that Mozilla keeps both employees and volunteers motivated. One very important uniquely Mozilla model is how they address both successes and failures. With successes, as typified by most American companies, management gives credit where it is due. Baker says that at Mozilla when a perceived failure takes place, upper management, employees and volunteers alike deeply examine/analyze what took place. Rather then necessarily shoot something down right away, they look to see if what is “wrong”, needs to truly be corrected, or if it is a new way of doing things that is uncomfortable; but actually better for the company in the long run. I feel that analyzing perceived failures this way, is a true testament to Mozilla as an open structure company. There is no "status quo" so to speak, what is "correct" or "accepted" is dynamic.
I realize that in America’s Capitalist society, in most instances, the Open Source business model will not succeed. As most companies are driven by the bottom line, Mozilla seems to be motivated by innovation. However, it is a model that has proven successful for this company. There are the more traditional Microsoft and Apple, however as the article points out, Mozilla is gaining a great share of the internet browser market, and the numbers keep growing. As the internet is an open forum that is rapidly changing the world in which we live, it is only fitting that internet based company remains open and dynamic.
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