30 May 2008 - 00:23Open Source a Threat to Microsoft?
By way of ZDNet coverage of a Ray Ozzie speech. Ray is reported as saying Open Source is a bigger threat to Microsoft than Google. We at Symas are shocked and suitably contrite. We don't mean to threaten anyone 
The observation that Open Source, in general, is a threat to Microsoft's business model, is, in our opinion, entirely on target. The responses noted in the report are "politically correct". Ray is a lot smarter than that but as CTO of the 800 pound gorilla, he has to be careful (act dumb) in public.
It is simply very difficult to run a business that is predicated on scarce programing talent and prices to the scarcity when the market has no scarcity and the consumer is unwilling to pay the premium as if there was a real scarcity. Most Open Source Software developers are beholden to shareholders, Ray! Their contributions are valued differently by their enterprises and not required to support high profit objectives.
When the pool of Open Source Software developers achieves functional and feature parity with profit-burdened proprietary software, it will be very disruptive for those depending on the traditional model. We don't think interoperability will, ultimately, be the point.
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