Linux – a disruptive technology?

Linux itself does not represent any great departures from previous technologies, but has led a technological revolution that is predicated on free software licensing. The open source development model, which is facilitated by the GNU General Public License (GPL), represents a challenge and an opportunity to industry to rethink the way that information and technology is used and shared between individuals and organisations, and in some sectors – notably the financial services sector – the challenge appears to have been accepted. The disruptive technology is the license and its distinctive inversion of copyright law.