| Interoperability is one of the sacred goals | | | | SourceForge Enterprise), EnterpriseDB, |
| of IT, and even consumer computing. If | | | | Hyperic, JasperSoft, SourceForge.net, |
| operating systems, utilities, and | | | | SpikeSource, and Unisys ... well, you have a |
| applications do not work together, user | | | | bit of muscle to get things done. |
| productivity matches the low level I achieve | | | | |
| on Friday around cocktail hour ... which is | | | | What OSA initiated is an interoperability |
| "none at all." | | | | roadmap -- an attempt to specify some |
| | | | well-defined interoperability standards in |
| Open Source is ripping profitability out of | | | | the business software space. That's right, |
| the IT software market in part do to growing | | | | interop in applications. The objective is to |
| interoperability. Unlike traditional | | | | document standards and best practices for |
| technology vendors, Open Source benefits from | | | | Open Source developers to use when building |
| creating the greatest amount of | | | | their software. The OSA will help by |
| interoperability possible. More commercial | | | | prototyping working code to demonstrate the |
| vendors keep margins high by locking in | | | | principles of the standards. The initial |
| customers to their suite of products. This | | | | prototype will be the Common Customer View. |
| is partially achieved by minimizing | | | | This standard joins information held in |
| interoperability with competing and | | | | different applications (CRM, ERP, etc.), |
| non-partner solutions, and thus raising | | | | business intelligence software, and for demo |
| switching costs should a customer consider | | | | sake, a legacy point-of-sale application. |
| "dumping and jumping" to a different stack. | | | | |
| | | | This presents new issues for software |
| Linux/GNU and their compatriots have been a | | | | marketing professionals. If you are a |
| model for interoperability. They | | | | traditional application vendor, you will |
| collectively seek to create as much of the | | | | eventually encounter new competitive threats. |
| stuff as possible, assuring most of the | | | | All other things being equal, |
| components of the Linux stack work extremely | | | | interoperability between Open Source |
| well together. Without traditional profit | | | | applications would be a deal-making |
| motives, the only barriers to | | | | differentiator. Your products will either |
| interoperability were time and complexity | | | | have to interoperate with best-of-breed |
| (the time it takes to code interoperations, | | | | commercial applications, interoperate with |
| and the complexity of supporting multiple | | | | Open Source applications using OSA standards, |
| points of interoperation). | | | | or both. |
| | | | |
| But this interoperability has been done on a | | | | If you are a dual-source vendor, these |
| handshake when developers from different | | | | standards will become part of your value |
| projects found need and motivation. This has | | | | proposition. This is a boon to dual-source |
| led to odd partnerships, some necessary | | | | vendors, creating an advantage over |
| exclusivity, and a bit of weariness by IT in | | | | best-of-breed commercial applications while |
| adopting Open Source solutions for fear that | | | | adhering to the Open Source promise of lower |
| necessary interoperability that exists today | | | | cost and greater flexibility. I can foresee |
| might not exist in the future. Open Source | | | | a time when the old networking-centric |
| has now grown to a point where consumers | | | | Interop trade show could become the |
| desire a bit more structure. | | | | application-centric Interop event, where all |
| | | | the application software vendors demonstrate |
| The Open Solutions Alliance (OSA) has started | | | | live how they work with all the other vendors |
| adding structure. This happened pretty | | | | in the building. Interop launched |
| quickly for an organization that didn't exist | | | | standards-based networking, and OSA may |
| three months ago. But when you have founding | | | | launch standards-based applications. |
| members like CollabNet (who now owns | | | | |