Hugh pointed me at William Hurley’s post Seven Reasons Microsoft Loves Open Source. I don’t agree with many of the reasons, but that is not the point of this post. Maybe some other day.
I agree vehemently with one thing William says. In reason 6, he makes the point
Microsoft doesn’t fear open source; it fears what the competition can do with it.
This is true for all companies, and for all Because Effect infrastructure. By itself not to be feared (the With); yet feared for what your competitors can do with with (the Because Of).
The moral of the story is: As infrastructure moves from the With state to the Because Of state, make sure you move with it. Because if you don’t and your competitors do, you’re on the road to Toast.
I totally grok what you’re saying, JP. I have also stated on my blog that Open Source could be really good for MSFT long-term, and not necessarily the fatal threat its often perceived as being. Why? Because even if you hate them, a good competitor will ALWAYS raise your game.
Hugh, you raise a key point. Opensource COULD be really good for Microsoft long-term, particularly if they respond and raise their game. But even if they don’t, the customer will gain because the overall game would have been raised. One way or the other, it is really good for the customer.