March 2007: First Person
Stop the software
war
It’s time for open-source and commercial software
advocates to do what’s right for the customer.
By Mike Sax
The world of software has gone through quite a bit of change
since I moved to Eugene to start my own software company 15
years ago. At the time, one of my favorite things about the
industry was the way companies would vigorously compete and
work together at the same time. Building products customers
wanted was the central focus and, in many cases, these
customers used a mix of competing products from different
vendors.
Software companies were so focused on pleasing their customers
they would set their dislike of competitors aside in order
build products that would play well with others. A new word
— co-opetition — was even invented to describe the
practice.
A few years ago there was a big change in the industry.
Everyone started suing each other over technology integration
and patent violations. It felt like the lawyers were pushing
the developers aside and taking over. It was a trend that made
the industry much less fun for the technology geeks who started
it and much more complicated for customers. Suddenly, customers
were caught in the middle of legal disputes and forced to
choose sides on issues they didn’t care about. All they
wanted was products that worked together well.
The good news: The tide seems to be turning. Recently, two
industry giants, Novell and Microsoft, announced an agreement
that brings back the spirit of doing what’s right for the
customer. Novell is one of the primary vendors of Linux,
archrival to Microsoft’s Windows operating system. The
agreement put their business differences aside and created a
framework in which the two companies would support and work
with each other’s products.
Utah-based Novell is a poster child for open-source software,
while Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., is the world’s
most successful commercial software company. Oregon is
somewhere around the middle between these worlds.
Our state has attracted some of the best open-source talent
(Oregon resident Linus Torvalds, the inventor of Linux, comes
to mind) and has developed a strong reputation in the
open-source world. At the same time, many of Oregon’s
best jobs depend on commercial software and technology
companies. The struggle between open-source and commercial
software has manifested itself in corporations, universities
and even state government.
The rivalry between open-source and commercial software has
caused many people to take sides, but the practical reality is
not so black and white. Most organizations use a mix of both
kinds of software. Most customers don’t care about the
philosophy behind their software; they just want something that
does the job well.
This Novell-Microsoft peace-making agreement has generated
lots of buzz. Analysts, bloggers and journalists have been
speculating on the wider implications, the strategic impact,
what it all means — even a conspiracy theory or two. I
don’t care to join the ideological debate.
What I do care about is the practical impact — which for
us is 100% positive. Like many businesses, we rely on both
commercial and open-source software. So when two giants from
separate worlds decide that it’s time to do what’s
right for their mutual customers, that is a very good thing.
With Novell and Microsoft agreeing to mutual support, I
don’t have to worry about getting caught between
finger-pointing support agents. I can choose the best tool for
the job.
I’m optimistic again about the software industry. Things
were looking grim for a while — we heard more about legal
strategies than about new products. Now, it looks like
co-opetition is back and customers are the kingmakers of the
industry again. As a customer, I’ll always pick companies
that choose innovation over litigation.
Everyone benefits from focusing on solutions rather than a
game of tug-of-war between commercial and open-source software.
Oregon is fortunate to have a strong foot in both worlds, with
a leadership position in open source and large numbers of
Oregonians being employed by commercial software companies.
Animosity between the two is unproductive. If we can keep
Oregon’s civil wars limited to football rather than
software, we’ll all be better off.
Mike Sax is president and
founder of Sax.Net in Eugene.
ave an opinion? E-mail feedback@oregonbusiness.com
