A recent McKinsey & Company report, How software excellence fuels business performance, found, the "biggest differentiator" for top-quartile companies in an industry vertical was "open-source adoption," where they shifted from users to contributors. The report’s data shows that top-quartile company adoption of open source has three times the impact on innovation than companies in other quartiles. In other words, successful companies don’t just use open-source programs, they actively work on their industry’s open-source projects.
How can contributing actively to something their rivals can use possibly help them in the market? As President John F. Kennedy said, "a rising tide lifts all boats." When we share our resources, our work, and our expertise in open source, everyone benefits.
See How open-source software transformed the business world | ZDNet
People still think of open-source software as general programs for general problems. And, it is, but it’s also become vital for vertical markets and companies as well.