| By Christopher Keene | Article Rating: |
|
| September 29, 2008 10:00 PM EDT | Reads: |
2,338 |
Larry Augustin recently wrote about the differences between how Europe and the US view the open source software market. His comments came after attending the Olliance Think Tank conference in Paris this week (tough assignment, that).
He identified a number of differences between how Europe and the US view open source. For example, he gives the primary European reason for adoption open source as wanting to avoid vendor lock-in, while the primary reason for adopting open source in the US is cost.
While recognizing the differences, I think that the open source business model is tending to converge on the dual-license approach that I outlined in the Silverado Rules for Open Source Software. So what accounts for these regional differences?
I believe the biggest single factor to explain these differences is the underlying attitude towards Microsoft. In the US, where Microsoft is seen as a successful, if aggressive, competitor, adoption open source is a business decision, that is to say based on cost and ROI.
In Europe, where Microsoft is seen as a malignant force, adoption of open source is seen as a political decision, that is to say based on and ideology that trumps business considerations. Viewed this way, the differences described by Larry between the two geographies are very consistent, particularly if you just insert the word Microsoft at strategic points.
For example, on the first observation, the primary reason for adopting open source in Europe is to avoid [Microsoft] lock-in; while the primary reason in the US is cost, as Microsoft lock-in per se is not seen as a bad thing.
At the end of the day, open source is not so much an ideology as an evolution in how software is developed and distributed. For WaveMaker, open source is a great way to accelerate adoption of our free JavaScript download for building web applications.
Email this • Digg This! • Submit to Reddit • Stumble It!
Published September 29, 2008 Reads 2,338
Copyright © 2008 SYS-CON Media, Inc. — All Rights Reserved.
Syndicated stories and blog feeds, all rights reserved by the author.
More Stories By Christopher Keene
Christopher Keene is Chairman and CEO of WaveMaker (formerly ActiveGrid). Chris was the founder, in 1991, of Persistence Software, a San Mateo, CA-based company that created a new approach for managing data in high-transaction banking and communications systems. Persistence Software investors included Cisco, Intel, Reuters and Sun Microsystems. The company went public in 1999 on the NASDAQ exchange and was sold in 2004 to Progress software.After leaving Persistence Software in 2005, Chris spent a year in France as chairman of Reportive Software, a Paris-based maker of business-intelligence tools, and as an adjunct professor and entrepreneur-in-residence at INSEAD, a leading graduate business school.
- Cloud CEOs, CTOs & SVPs to Speak at 4th International Cloud Computing Expo
- Practical Approaches for Optimizing Website Performance
- 1st Annual GovIT Expo: Letter from the Technical Chair
- Ulitzer News: Search vs New Media
- Publishing Synergy: Blog, Twitter and Ulitzer
- The Difference Between Web Hosting and Cloud Computing
- Cloud Computing Expo: Exclusive Q&A with Yahoo! SVP Cloud Computing
- GovIT Expo Highlights Cloud Computing
- The End of IT 1.0 As We Know It Has Begun
- Twitter, Linked In, Ning and Ulitzer: Easy Personal Branding Strategy
- Cloud CEOs, CTOs & SVPs to Speak at 4th International Cloud Computing Expo
- Practical Approaches for Optimizing Website Performance
- Is Cloud Computing Like Teenage Sex?
- 1st Annual GovIT Expo: Letter from the Technical Chair
- Ulitzer News: Search vs New Media
- Ruby-on-Rails Apps Get Cloud Lift
- Publishing Synergy: Blog, Twitter and Ulitzer
- The Difference Between Web Hosting and Cloud Computing
- Cloud Computing Expo: Exclusive Q&A with Yahoo! SVP Cloud Computing
- GovIT Expo Highlights Cloud Computing
- The i-Technology Right Stuff
- Linux.SYS-CON.com Exclusive: Linus Discloses *Real* Fathers of Linux
- After Ubuntu, Windows Looks Increasingly Bad, Increasingly Archaic, Increasingly Unfriendly
- Linus' Top Ten SCO Barbs
- A Closer Look at Damn Small Linux
- Netscape Co-Founder's 12 Reasons for Growth of Open Source
- Introducing "Cooperative Linux" - Linux for Windows, No Less
- *POINT - COUNTERPOINT SPECIAL* What's Wrong with the Open Source Community?
- Where Are RIA Technologies Headed in 2008?
- Linux.SYS-CON.com Exclusive: What Would UserLinux Look Like?



































