Software vendors lack the perspective to develop software within a software ecosystem. The inability to function in a software ecosystem has already led to the demise of many software vendors, leading to loss of competition, intellectual property, and eventually jobs in the software industry. In this paper we present a research agenda on software ecosystems to study both the technical and the business aspects of software engineering in vibrant ecosystems. The results of such research enable

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... ware vendors to develop software that is adaptable to new business models and new markets, and to make strategic choices that help a software vendor to thrive in a software ecosystem.