Why Open Source should like Microsoft
It is not true to say everybody dislikes Microsoft – so many people are taking benefits from them – but the army of opponents is immensely huge. To me, it looks more like a crusade with their soldiers (thousands of PHP and Java fans), monks (Matt Asay for example), and generals (one of them is Steve of course). Most of them dream to revisit “Saint Georges and the dragon”.
When it comes to open source, you are getting close to the fanatic guards of the crusade, the knights templar or call them whatever you want as most of the religions had their own crusades.
I am an open source fanatic, but I like Microsoft, very much.
Of course it is great that some open source fanatics also fight fiercely that beast (like Matt Asay’s company, Alfresco, who brilliantly proposed an alternative to Sharepoint) but for most of us, it looks to me essential to live with Microsoft, not only in peace, but in harmony with the monster.
We need to live with it like our clients also do and if open source is not used for the clients it will remain quite useless. To be successful, open source must comply with the clients’ IT which often is managed by the terrible beast open source dislikes so much.
That’s why, for instance, my employer’s product, Jahia, is now embedding a connector to Sharepoint as to Alfresco (or other repositories, open source or not). OK we “prefer” (we like more) a pure open source stack, of course, but it does not belong to us to influence a client’s choice in terms of technology or IT environment. If they are using Microsoft, and Sharepoint, we are fine with that.
The lack of compliance of open source tools with close source system is often point out by analysts. I fully agree on the necessity to live with your clients’ ecosystem to foster the development of your product, open source or not that not the point.
I believe you serve better your causes by your actual successes, you may find me opportunistic, I am just more believing in Machiavel’s principle than in the Crusaders:
“Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage.”
