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Open Source: The Coming Flood
Companies specializing in Open Source service and support are entering the marketplace at a rapid pace, and Bernard Golden, author of “Succeeding with Open Source” is predicting that it will soon turn into a flood. And that flood will inevitably be followed by a wave of consolidation.
Businesses have been held back in adopting Open Source because of worries centered on support. What if something goes wrong? A lack of a service level agreement (SLA) or guarantee to assist if problems arise is a major roadblock for OS software adoption.
But that’s changing. Companies are filling the need by building strategies around Open Source that wrap the technology with service level agreements that spell out specific levels of support. These Open Source support companies are giving enterprises the reassurance they need to make a decision in favor of Open Source. Companies buying these services are the real winners here — they are getting great software and quality support for very reasonable prices.
On the other hand, companies providing support services are entering a very tough and competitive business. It’s difficult to differentiate one operation from a dozen other companies that provide similar guarantees and services. The intellectual content of the Open Source is what enables these companies to exist, but the ready availability of Open Source significantly lowers the bar for competitors to enter the market.
Open Source has definitely changed the rules of the software game. Open Source is now on the radar screen of almost any company involved with software, and many software companies now include Open Source in some aspect of their business strategy. But it is also fair to say that Open Source is still an experiment in the making and that no one is sure they know what the future holds for Open Source.
