Open source
For a long time people asked, is there a revolution in the provision of key system software or is collaboratively produced code, free of traditional intellectual property protection, just a new-age fad?
In the last few years, the answer has been clear. With major mainstream vendors committing millions to Linux acquisition and development, and corporations across the world declaring an open source strategy, the "fad" is obviously here to stay. Whether it's an SME lured by the cost savings of open source (as in the case of 6 out of 10 Oracle database sites*) or a public authority attracted by the long-term gains on development outlay, few organisations will stay completely outside the open source world in future. IDC predicts that 25 million copies of the Linux operating system will be in use by next year.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for those arguing for OR against open source will centre on total cost of ownership, implications of perceived risk, availability of supported applications and being able to envisage a future based on a development environment that still has unfamiliar business and technical models.
The skilled seller, inside or outside the open source movement, will need to think carefully about being persuasive and competitive. And if software applications themselves are not going to be revenue generators in an open world, how does a company position itself with a new value proposition around services and support - and then go out and sell it?
* Independent Oracle Users Group, August 2006.
