• On The Insider: Britney's Bikini-Clad Top 10
November 3, 2008 1:07 PM PST

Sign that open source has arrived: SpringSource elected to JCP

by Matt Asay

As perhaps the clearest indication that open source has "arrived," take a look at the company it keeps. For example, today SpringSource announced that it has been elected to the Java Community Process Executive Committee. Good for SpringSource, right? It now gets a seat at the Java table and can help to improve enterprise Java.

But this isn't the real news. No, the real news is that open-source SpringSource joins SAP, Ericsson, Nokia, Philips, and IBM on the JCP Executive Committee.

It's similar to to open-source content management and collaboration vendor, Alfresco, being chosen to participate in the CMIS standards body, along with IBM, EMC Documentum, Microsoft, OpenText, Oracle, and SAP.

Little SpringSource. Little Alfresco. Big open source.

Open source has arrived. Just ask the incumbent vendors who can no longer hold back the tide, but are under increasing pressure to allow open-source vendors and communities to break open their cabals and participate in setting industry standards and technology direction.

It's about time.


Disclosure: I am an Alfresco employee.

Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay.
Recent posts from The Open Road
Mobile: Still waiting to see what sticks
Google privacy controls: Most people won't care
Amazon's move mocks EU's fear of Oracle
Skype to open-source far too little
The difference a few years makes to open source
Novell cuts 3 percent of its workforce, plus benefits
Data's one-two punch in open-source business models
Open source as an antitrust strategy
Add a Comment (Log in or register) (4 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
by williamlouth November 3, 2008 1:48 PM PST
"setting industry standards and technology direction."

You incorrectly assume that all members make worthwhile contributions during the process and not just at the end when the vote has been cast.

William
Reply to this comment
by williamlouth November 3, 2008 1:56 PM PST
And just to put things in perspective which you seem to consistently fail to do:

Executive Committee for Java SE/Java EE
http://jcp.org/en/participation/committee

Hani Suleiman (http://www.bileblog.org) was in 2007 elected.

William
Reply to this comment
by Ian Skerrett November 4, 2008 6:38 AM PST
Matt,

Not sure if you know but the Apache Foundation has been a long time member of the JCP and the Eclipse Foundation was elected last year. 'Open Source' has already arrived at theJCP.

Ian Skerrett
Eclipse Foundation
Reply to this comment
by Matt Asay November 4, 2008 7:10 AM PST
@Ian: Good point. Thanks for the update.
Reply to this comment
(4 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
advertisement

After 5 years, Firefox faces new challenges

Mozilla helped reshape the Web since releasing Firefox 1.0 five years ago. Now it's got a reawakened Microsoft and Google Chrome to reckon with.

There's a map for that: GPS or smartphone?

Almost every handset comes with mapping software these days, but standalone GPS devices are becoming more affordable than ever.

advertisement

About The Open Road

Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to the Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is general manager of the Americas division and vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.

Add this feed to your online news reader

The Open Road topics

advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right