O'Reilly study uncovers multiple reasons for open source's impressive rise
(Credit:
O'Reilly Media, Bernard Golden, and Sourceforge.net)
According to new research released today by Bernard Golden (Navica) and O'Reilly Research, there are at least six reasons compelling the rapid rise of open source. Agility and scale, reduced vendor lock-in, quality and security, cost, sovereignty (i.e., Local, not necessarily US-based development), and innovation. No wonder Sourceforge downloads continue to rise.
In one particular area, however, open source shines, in my opinion: The ability to reduce lock-in to a particular vendor. The report suggests:
There is little potential price competition for incumbent vendors: Because locked-in vendors have little fear of being replaced, they are in a position to extract expensive maintenance and upgrade fees, bleeding ever-shrinking IT budgets of precious dollars. For example, Oracle just announced price increases of 20% for its database software (accompanied by increases in ongoing maintenance fees as well), secure in the knowledge that very few enterprises are in a position to resist the increase due to the difficulty of replacing the products.
Whatever the price associated with getting into a relationship with Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, IBM, HP, etc., few enterprise buyers seem to reflect on just how expensive it will be to disengage from that relationship due to lock-in to proprietary technology. Things that may be good for buyers (like SaaS) can be safely avoided by the vendor that owns its customers.
This is why I've found industry consolidation so troubling: It essentially forces buyers into long-term, dependent relationships with their vendors. Witness SAP's recent price hike. When the vendor owns the buyer's data by owning the software in which it's housed, the vendor wins every time.
This situation begs for Sun, Red Hat, and other open-source vendors to provide compelling open alternatives. Customers shouldn't have to choose between the lesser of two lock-ins. They should gain choice when they buy software, not lose it. This is the freedom open source affords.
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. 
When are consumers going to break out of the mold equating quality to cost? A rule that is often grossly abused, especially in symbiotic / parasitic partnerships.
I currently develop using microsoft technologies, but I'd love to become more au fait with mySQL or a comparitive database that will serve my needs. One of the most beneficial aspects of the open source movement for me is an active community. I love being able to ask questions, get answers, learn from examples and in turn help others.
- by fuckwindows3377 August 6, 2008 6:21 PM PDT
- Linux was way before Mac or Windows. I would much rather have an OS that is much faster than windows or mac, is free, has no viruses, and is customizable. There are no up sides to having windows, other than the fact that you can play more games on it.
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