Case: Mesosphere: Creating Lasting Value on Top of Open Source Software

Ben Hindman Chief Architect and Cofounder

By: Stanford Graduate School of Business

Each of the cases provided is a STARTING POINT for your research to answer the proposed questions. You will need to research each company and industry to see what has transpired since the case was written. Use the cases as background to frame your answers to the question but make sure you include current, up-to-date, information about each company and situation as you answer the questions. Do not simply base your answer on what is written in the case. The circumstances for each set of questions has significantly evolved since the initial writing of the case.

What do you see as the major challenges associated with building a company around open source software? At the end of 2013, should Elastic Meso have been given away for free? In 2016, Meso decided to open source its core product DC/OS. Do you agree with this decision, why or why not? How has it worked out?