Open Source - Major Trends To Watch

The Open Source market, when viewed by drivers, has following four trends that are increasingly overlapping:

1) Cost driven and centered on the Linux Operating system

The original market based on the simple idea of the need for an adaptable O/S that could be tailored to suit circumstances and allow the production of code and techniques to suit new circumstances. This market has remained largely focused on the Server as there is more need for flexibility and more opportunity to develop more applications at a server level than at a PC level. This has led to RedHat having been accused of abandoning the desktop market and the ‘faithful’ starting to back the new Ubunto distribution for desktops.

Today this market can be regarded at a Server level as relatively mature in acceptance and understanding, there are more question marks over the degree to which progress has been made in Desktops (other than France) or in cell phones where Motorola lost market share after the adoption of a Linux O/S. However if factors 2 and 3 below start to accelerate then this will almost certainly change. The challenge with this market is that it is based on cost reduction and is therefore an industrialized market on low margins.

2) Standards driven and centered on the need for non differentiated common software

There is a broad consensus in the technology industry that this is really the core driver by introducing business level software with new, and different,t functionality usually based upon the use of the Internet. In these areas the ability for wide spread sharing of a common set of functions to handle a non differentiating task creates both a new market, and challenges the previous generation of licensing terms. Many of these ‘intra user’, or ‘intra enterprise’, applications are increasingly viewed by the mainstream software venders as extending the market for their own ‘internally’ oriented products.

This is introducing active relationships where they believe they can gain leverage, as an example the Microsoft release of nearly 30 open source code elements to speed this up. To date SAP is the only major vender to have released nothing, and that may change following the release of ‘New Leaf’, their Open Group TOGAF based initiative this spring. From the perspective of a MNC, this is potentially a serious market built on adding value through designing and integrating the new external open standards for trading, and interacting, with the existing internal systems for recording transactions.

3) Requirements driven and centered on new forms of ‘applications’ and their delivery

This shift towards this new ‘intra’ standards based business from Web 2.0 through to CRM, and on to individual vertical sector trading standards outlined above has led to an emphasis on ‘how’ to deliver as the value moves from ‘what’ to deliver. Put another way, if the product is none differentiating and does not carry a margin, then the attention has shifted towards delivery as a service in order to find the margin. This is a very complicated shift that does not only affect Open Source and is worthy of a full discussion in its own right.

From the perspective of a MNC, the real issue is the increasing move these new types of applications are bringing away from major upgrade projects but towards continually small changes. This is bringing some new definitions to AM as well as SaaS, most of which are more closely associated with our core competencies than ‘pure’ SaaS.

4) Politically driven around the desire to overcome ‘monopoly’ providers

For a MNC, this is the easiest one to identify, and accounts for the booming market in France where the Government has driven the adoption of Open Source. However as this is not driven by technology but by the local market it is not part of this brief. However there is one note to make. The North American software vendors who feel this is a deliberate political stance are watching the moves carefully, and if they feel the situation goes too far have a stated intention to identify code corruption and take legal action.

As several actions have already shown license infringements are difficult to avoid, especially when integrating solutions with a mix of Open Source and Proprietary. From the perspective of a MNC, this is a potentially a huge risk as we would almost certainly be the liable party in such an action, and in the adoption of Open Source the legal aspects must be clearly identified and managed at a project level.

Source: Report where the CTO of a Major MNC is talking about the company's plans for Open Source

Linux is NOT Windows

As you are visiting this page, the chances are that you're relatively new to Linux and you might be facing some problems / issues while switching over to Linux from Windows. Welcome to the real world - you are not the only one! Many individuals face multiple issues, so I have divided this article as per multiple problem areas.

Note: In this, the word LINUX refers to the GNU/Linux OS and various Free & Open-Source Software (FOSS) projects.

Problem #1: Linux isn't exactly the same as Windows.

You'd be amazed how many people make this complaint. They explore Linux, expecting to find essentially a free, open-source version of Windows. Quite often, this is what they've been told to expect by over-zealous Linux users. However, it's a paradoxical hope. The specific reasons why people try Linux vary wildly, but the overall reason boils down to one thing: They hope Linux will be better than Windows. Common yardsticks for measuring success are cost, choice, performance, and security. There are many others. But every Windows user who tries Linux, does so because they hope it will be better than what they've got.

Therein lies the problem.

The possible solution: Remember that where Linux is familiar and the same as what you're used to, it isn't new & improved. Welcome the places where things are different, because only here does it have a chance to shine.

Problem #2: Linux is too different from Windows.

The next issue arises when people do expect Linux to be different, but find that some differences are just too radical for their liking. Probably the biggest example of this is the sheer amount of choice available to Linux users. Whereas an out-of-the-box-Windows user has the Classic or XP desktop with Wordpad, Internet Explorer, etc. etc.

Does Linux really have to be so different from Windows? After all, they're both operating systems. They both do the same job: Power your computer & give you something to run applications on. Surely they should be more or less identical?

Switching from one version of Windows to another is like switching from one car to another. Win95 to Win98, I honestly couldn't tell the difference. Win98 to WinXP, it was a bigger change but really nothing major.

But switching from Windows to Linux is like switching from a car to a motorbike. They may both be OSes/road vehicles. They may both use the same hardware / roads. They may both provide an environment for you to run applications / transport you from A to B. But they use fundamentally different approaches to do so.

Windows / cars are not safe from viruses / theft unless you install an antivirus / lock the doors. Linux / motorbikes don't have viruses / doors, so are perfectly safe without you having to install an antivirus / lock any doors.

So, to avoid problem #2: Don't assume that being a knowledgeable Windows user means you're a knowledgeable Linux user: When you first start with Linux, you are a novice.

Problem #3: Culture shock

Windows users are more or less in a customer-supplier relationship: They pay for software, for warranties, for support, and so on. They expect software to have a certain level of usability. They are therefore used to having rights with their software: They have paid for technical support and have every right to demand that they receive it. They are also used to dealing with entities rather than people: Their contracts are with a company, not with a person.

Linux users are in more of a community. They don't have to buy the software, they don't have to pay for technical support. They download software for free & use Instant Messaging and web-based forums to get help. They deal with people, not corporations.

So, to avoid problem #3: Simply remember that you haven't paid the developer who wrote the software or the people online who provide the tech support. They don't owe you anything. Also remember that what Linux seems to be now is not what Linux was in the past. The largest and most necessary part of the Linux community, the hackers and the developers, like Linux because they can fit it together the way they like; they don't like it in spite of having to do all the assembly before they can use it.

Problem #4: The myth of "user-friendly"

This is a big one. It's a very big term in the computing world, "user-friendly". It's even the name of a particularly good webcomic. But it's a bad term. The basic concept is good: That software be designed with the needs of the user in mind. But it's always addressed as a single concept, which it isn't.

Clearly, software designed around the needs of the first user will not be suitable for the second, and vice versa. So how can any software be called "user-friendly", if we all have different needs?

The simple answer: User-friendly is a misnomer, and one that makes a complex situation seem simple.

To avoid #4 problems, all you can really do is try and remember that "user-friendly" doesn't mean "What I'm used to": Try doing things your usual way, and if it doesn't work, try and work out what a total novice would do.

What is Open Source?

Wikipedia defines Open Source as the principles and methodologies to promote open access to the production and design process for various goods, products, resources and technical conclusions or advice. The term is most commonly applied to the source code of software that is made available to the general public with either relaxed or non-existent intellectual property restrictions. This allows users to create user-generated software content through either incremental individual effort, or collaboration.

However, according to OpenSource.org, Open source is a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in. Open source doesn't just mean access to the source code. The distribution terms of open-source software must comply with the following criteria:

1. Free Redistribution
2. Source Code
3. Derived Works
4. Integrity of The Author's Source Code
5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups
6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
7. Distribution of License
8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product
9. License Must Not Restrict Other Software
10. License Must Be Technology-Neutral