Microsoft exec: Open-source model endangers software economy

Paul Krill   Today’s Top Stories   or  Other Databases Stories  

Turning information into a Competitive Advantage The Secure Web Gateway. Mission Critical For Business Get a Grip on Storage Growth and Reduce Costs Myth of the Million Dollar Database Virtualization Everywhere Survey: Business Intelligence Maturity and the Quest for Better Performance Six Questions To Ask About Information And Competition Computerworld Report- Large Enterprises Pay More for IPAM An Apple for Your Enterprise? Sign up to receive Databases Resource Alerts

March 16, 2004 (InfoWorld) -- A Microsoft Corp. official yesterday questioned how the software industry could survive if users are getting software for free through open-source.
For-profit software companies will struggle for a business model against free software, said Microsoft Distinguished Engineer Jim Gray. He served on a panel last night on software trends, XML, Web services and grids at the Software Development Conference and Expo West 2004 show in Santa Clara, Calif.
"The thing I'm puzzled by is how there will be a software industry if there's open-source," Gray said, disagreeing with a fellow panelist over the effects of open-source technology.
Speaking in response to an audience question about the effect of open-source on standards development, panelist Daniela Florescu, a senior software engineer at BEA Systems Inc., said implementations of standards such as XML schema are being taken out of open-source movements such as Apache.
But Gray said the open-source community hasn't been responsible for standards development. "I don't think any of those specifications were written by any of the open-source community," he said. Gray even cited Microsoft rival Sun Microsystems Inc. as a company that has developed standards while stressing that he was "puzzled" by Florescu's answer.
"All those companies [developing standards] are selling software," said Gray. "The key thing is [with] people who are selling their software, the software has to somehow be better than the free software, and [if] it's not better, I'm puzzled as to what the business model is because they can't sell it."
An audience member asked if software companies could instead compete on the basis of their service models. "No, they don't, because I think the people in China could do better [with a service model] than the people in America," Gray said.
A panelist from Oracle Corp. acknowledged that the database company couldn't compete with an open-source vendor such as MySQL AB on price.
"One place where we could not compete very effectively is [on] price," said Jim Melton, standards architect at Oracle. However, he said the company would compete very well with open-source products by emphasizing functions such as scalability, high performance and huge databases.
"I also think the open-source databases will pursue [features] in the same manner," Melton said, but he noted that Oracle has a "10-year head start" in development.
The Oracle database as well as Microsoft SQL Server and IBM DB2 will continue to compete effectively, Melton said.
A product release last Friday by MySQL confirmed that open-source companies do intend to compete on features. MySQL announced an open-source, clustered database product with high-availability support, called MySQL Cluster. The database is intended for larger applications than what has been the company's forte.

Reprinted with permission from

For more enterprise computing news, visit Infoworld.com
Story copyright 2006 InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Print this Story

Send Us Feedback

E-mail this Story

Digg this Story

Slashdot this Story

"Yahoo's owners have spoken and Jerry Yang is out as Yahoo CEO. Does this mean that Microsoft is in?..." Read more... "In five years, IT will still be a viable career path, but it will no longer exist as the stand-alone..." Read more... Read more Business Intelligence posts or See all Blogs

Microsoft's Ballmer ordered to testify in 'Vista Capable' suit Spyware case finally closed for teacher Julie Amero Bush's exit to put new e-records system to the test More top stories...

Judgment favors Novell in ongoing SCO case Symantec sees spike in dangerous Microsoft attacks BlackBerry Storm buyers brave the cold in Boston to be first with the new smart phone

2008 Salary Survey: IT pay takes tiny leaps If you're like our 7,000 survey respondents, your paycheck this year has been flattened and your bonus obliterated. We offer 12 ways to plump up your paycheck. Windows 7 in-depth review and video: This time Microsoft gets it right Microsoft's next OS might more accurately be called Windows 6.5: It's essentially a better version of Vista. Twitter for business: 5 ways to tap the power of the tweet Twitter can be a valuable business tool -- if you know what you're doing. Here's how to juice it for all it's worth. Microsoft's 'Vista Capable' changes outraged HP, insider e-mails show By helping Intel with loosened 'Vista Capable' requirements, Microsoft 'severely damaged' its credibility, said an HP exec in a newly unsealed Feb. 2006 e-mail. Windows 7 Get the latest news, reviews and more about Microsoft's newest desktop operating system More Continuing Coverage Windows 7 Voting Technology Google's Chrome browser Economy in turmoil: Latest news and tips iPhone 3G Bill Gates moves on Windows Vista A to Z Mac A to Z 2008 Salary Survey Find wage data for 50 IT job titles. More Special Reports 2008 Premier 100 IT Leaders 2007 Premier 100 IT Leaders 2008 Best Places to Work in IT 2007 Best Places to Work in IT 2008 Salary Survey 2007 Salary Survey 2006 Salary Survey 2008 IT Forecast 2007 IT Forecast 40 Years of Computerworld Top 12 Green-IT Users The FAQs About Going Green IT Schools to Watch iPhone: One Year Later Global Mobile Your Next Data Center Management: Reinventing IT Stop Data Leaks Web 2.0 Security Surviving Disasters Managing Storage Virtualization The Lean Storage Machine Storage on Trial Can Web 2.0 Save BI? Bypass These BI Potholes All Zones Business Continuity Zone The File Data Management Zone Security Management Zone The SAS Zone Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone The Enterprise Search Zone Software as a Service Zone The Security Zone See your link here

Speeding the time to intelligence Get this Computerworld report free for a limited time, compliments of SAS. Time To Intelligence -- a concept defining how long it takes to get accurate and timely information into the hands of workers who need it most. Do it slower than your competitors and your company is toast. Do it faster, you scorch them. Business Intelligence is the key to optimizing Time To Intelligence, and success there is a combination of people, policies, and technology. Download this executive briefing  Transforming Disaster Recovery - VMware Infrastructure for rapid, reliable and cost-effective Disaster Recovery Download this white paper today! (Source: VMware) VMware Infrastructure transforms disaster recovery by providing you fast, reliable and cost-effective disaster recovery. Why suffer from the slow, expensive and unreliable problems associated with traditional disaster recovery solution? VMware makes disaster recovery affordable through consolidation savings and re-use of existing servers for your disaster recovery site. Experience the speed of virtualization! Download this white paper  From Laggard to Leader: Transforming the Data Center From Laggard to Leader: Transforming the Data Center Register for this complimentary webcast today! Go to the webcast  White Papers Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. Infoblox IP Address Management Solutions Brief 2008 Internet Malware Trends Report Enterprise Findability Without the Complexity View more whitepapers

• Microsoft's Ballmer ordered to testify in 'Vista Capable' suit
• Judgment favors Novell in ongoing SCO case
• Spyware case finally closed for teacher Julie Amero
• More top stories 

SAS Business and Analytics Zone No matter where your organization is on the path toward evolving your IT infrastructure, SAS can adapt to your situation to meet your long-term enterprise intelligence needs. We can help you drive intelligence evolution to the next level, while leveraging and extending the value of your existing IT investments. Learn more in the Business and Analytics Zone See All Zones

Best Places to Work in IT Where can you earn top dollar, get the best benefits, the latest IT and more? Find out in our 14th annual survey.

SQL Anywhere Developer Edition Download SQL Anywhere is the industry-leading mobile and embedded database. Designed for database-powered applications that operate in frontline environments without onsite IT support, SQL Anywhere offers enterprise-caliber features in a database that is easily embedded and widely deployed in server, desktop, remote office and mobile applications. Download the free SQL Anywhere Developer Edition