"When the microcomputer came in, people wanted to mass-produce software and hardware [so] we started thinking about software as a commodity -- which is like a can of corn," he said. "But a car is not a commodity as it has to fit your needs [and] still needs to be safe and give good mileage. A car is not a commodity."

With this analogy, Maddog said he has not seen a business problem that is a commodity, because they are all different, even if only slightly in some cases.

"Software companies don't always have your best business interests at heart," he said. "When you have the source code you can make a business decision to invest in a solution or make it fit your business. You're the one in control."

Maddog said proprietary products disappear through mergers and if the business doesn't have the source code it can't make the business decision to support it until a suitable migration path is determined.

"Closed source software is failing now; it's just that we don't see it. If you're selling insurance do you think what accounting system, or database, or fleet of cars your sales force is using matters to customers? If you can reduce the cost of software you can pass that onto customers or put in your pocket."