February 7, 2006
(Computerworld)
Many IT professionals, analysts and journalists are calling 2005 the year the world awakened to the advantages of open-source. I personally have reaped the benefits of open-source for many years and am relieved to hear that so many others are joining the movement.
As early as 1996, as a technical director at the U.S. Department of Defense, I had hundreds of open-source Linux servers acting as Web and file servers. Back then, Linux was very young, and there were many people who were very skeptical about running open-source on Intel-based 486 servers in volume -- some even said it was crazy. Today, with large volumes of servers running open-source operating systems in production, many might say that it was actually visionary. The reality was, I was just an IT professional working to address the demands of my users in the most efficient way possible.
Today, I manage a large IT organization where almost all the servers run open-source software. And I am not just talking about the operating system anymore. Everything from the application and Web servers to the portal and, in some cases, the database server, is open-source. It's true that many major IT organizations are starting to follow a similar model, but we have taken it one step further than most by deploying and operating more than 35,000 open-source desktops. Like the servers back in 1996, some might think deploying open-source desktops is crazy. Others might call it visionary. Again, I am just an IT professional working to solve a problem for my organization in the most efficient way possible.
As an industry insider with over 25 years of experience in IT, including many years in large organizations like the Defense Department, I believe that open systems and open-source projects have many advantages over proprietary and closed-source systems. With more and more participants stirring the open-source pot, I started thinking about how far open-source has come and specifically about how the other half lives -- the "other half" being those who have already chosen not to work within the confines of proprietary and closed software.
The other half is already developing, using and contributing to open-source on a daily basis. They have already experienced the shift from open-source as a philosophical debate to open-source as a successful business model. The next chapter in the open-source story is about to begin, as it shifts gears to further transform into a universal model, accessible by all.
In fact, with the open-sourcing of Solaris, and the estimated $180 billion installed base (hardware and software) running in production today, many enterprises have now converted to the world of open-source. Many of them may not even realize it. If they are running Solaris in production, they are already an IT organization that has deployed open systems and open-source software. Open-source may be running in your enterprise right now. In fact, it's already the backbone of many large-scale commercial (eBay, Google, Yahoo) and government IT systems today. There should be no question that open-source is ready for mission-critical business operations, and it's proving that with the enterprise systems it is already supporting today.
Although it has been around for decades, open-source finally gained the respect and attention of the business community this past year. Executives have quickly begun to realize that by not even considering open-source, they run the risk of ostracizing their customers. People want options, and they want the knowledge to determine which option is right for them.
This past year, venture capitalists also awoke to the open-source phenomenon and were more willing to invest their cash to see it grow. They invested nearly $400 million into 50 open-source companies in the past year and a half alone. This stream of dollars reinforces the momentum behind open-source.
For me, open systems and open-source will always be the right decision. I know the benefits of working in this environment: Projects are on schedule because open systems give you scale and vendor choice; open-source helps to increase your security and reduce support costs in the development and test cycles; and, across the board, open-source reduces your acquisition costs per project. In comparison, proprietary systems lock you into a single vendor, limit your ability to scale or to accommodate any unforeseen changes or unplanned growth, and often require major redesign. Sticking with open systems protects your IT investment since you are not dependent on one vendor to provide a solution. Staying with a well-supported, open-source vendor puts not just one company, but an entire community behind you. In the end, the lack of flexibility of proprietary IT products can cost three to four times more than open systems over the lifespan of a project.
Too many players in the technology industry think first about the economic potential of open-source and second about its benefits in increased connectivity, user-friendly application and interoperability. This is a false dichotomy. Collaborative development improves the end product, whether software or hardware. Better products attract more users, which in turn expands the market for more products in a virtuous circle. Also, by making the technology market more accessible to smaller or more remote players, it expands the economic opportunity for all.
The only friend that proprietary, closed systems have left is inertia. Decades of investment in these systems have built up a perception that the benefits of open-source are not worth the transition costs. Pioneers have already debunked this way of thinking -- and not just in the U.S. Many countries across Europe, as well as China, India, Brazil and Peru, are understanding that open standards and open-source allow governments to be more effective and responsive in a less costly and complex IT environment.
The global reality is that proprietary and closed-source vendors no longer have a stronghold on the market and are now being forced to rethink their positioning in the industry. Open-source has proven that it has what it takes to be a strong competitor -- it is accessible and it makes money.
So, while it's clear that open-source is a reality in today's IT environment, it's not without its challenges. There are still issues with acceptance by business users, managing and understanding software licenses, dealing with complex support arrangements/agreements and hardware-driver issues, and learning how to work with a community as well as a vendor. It's also important for IT leaders to understand that some open-source vendors still attempt to lock in users with proprietary extensions to the applications they provide and, of course, we can't forget about the ever-present issues of release management, version control and backward compatibility.
In many cases, designing, implementing and deploying technology is not the problem. The problem is getting people to embrace the technology and understand its advantages. The open-source vision has been recognized by IT leaders around the world and is continuing to gain momentum in business, consumer and commercial markets. This momentum is what's necessary to continue the success of open-source -- and to show the other half how we live.
As CIO of Sun Microsystems Inc., Bill Vass is responsible for all aspects of Sun's global IT infrastructure and line-of-business application development, support and maintenance, including information service delivery and security.