IT predictions and the sneaky rise of open source
Posted by: admin in Business and Politics
Sometimes our beloved analysts get things dead-on…and sometimes their predictions as to where IT trends will take us are very, very off.
In an excellent article, ZDNet traces the non-demise of Windows and UNIX that analysts predicted, the continued dominance of Microsoft on the desktop (which was supposed to have been supplanted by open-source alternatives by now), and generally blisters our inability to predict the future with regard to open source. It’s everywhere, yes, but without the expected dominance that was to come with ominpresence.
One thing it has brought us, however, and that’s a significant shift in how all companies engage open source:
…[Apache, Firefox, and Samba] are token victories that mainly offer new options for home users and small businesses. No other open-source application has enjoyed anywhere near the massive commercial success of Linux through its creation of an entire services and support ecosystem.
Instead, they have served as game-changers - motivators to encourage for-profit vendors like IBM and Microsoft to up their game and offer extra value in their respective products.
Entries (RSS)