Open Source Commentary from Navica's CEO,
Bernard Golden
February 2008
In This Issue
IT as System Integrator
In this month's newsletter, I'd like to discuss the changing
role of IT in a world of open source and some interesting
implications of how IT is adjusting to the increasing use
of open source software. I'll touch on a couple of interesting
examples to illustrate why open source poses a challenge to
IT business-as-usual, and why we haven't yet – even
at this late date – seen the full impact of open source
on the realm of IT.
Open Source and Procurement
I was invited to speak at Sun a few weeks ago. They've started
a new program to bring in outside luminaries to offer differing
perspectives on topics important to Sun in an effort to avoid
inside-the-beltway thinking (or, put more floridly, to avoid
breathing their own exhaust). I was their first speaker in
the program and something of a guinea pig.
I had the opportunity to have lunch with Simon Phipps, Sun's
open source point man, before the presentation. During our
discussion, he noted that one of the major challenges for
Sun's open source-forward strategy is that many existing customers
are uncomfortable using software that does not require a licensing
fee, even with an explanation that Sun is happy to take money
from them, just that the fee is for support services.
Phipps went on to say that one of the main reasons prospects
and customers are uncomfortable with this open source approach
is that it fails to align with their expectations of how software
is obtained. They're so accustomed to the bid/procurement
process accompanied by the stereotypical sales rep proffering
half-truths about the product that they literally feel anxious
when offered the gift of free software. Furthermore, they're
so used to an adversarial relationship with sales reps that
they are bewildered about how to respond to a sales approach
that is more collaborative and focused on user satisfaction,
which is, of course, a prerequisite when what you sell is
support. support only becomes important when you are committed
to the product and feel it meets your requirements; in this
environment, a sales person has to be focused on how happy
the customer is, since no money flows until the product performs
well enough to be put into production.
Left unsaid by Phipps was how Sun is adjusting to this new
world of offering software with no strings attached, only
an invitation to call Sun for a support contract once the
system is ready to go into production.
My talk was attended by a variety of Sun employees: engineering,
marketing, field sales engineers, and a smattering of others.
From my observation, I would say that a number of them are
grappling with how to interact with customers on this new
basis. This is particularly true of people in software pre-sales.
In an environment of try – and implement – before
you buy, free pre-sales is an anachronism, not to mention
economically unsustainable. Pre-sales needs to morph into
something different, something more consultative, perhaps
even a chargeable service – but carrying on in a role
of attempting to bridge the divide between a sales rep's promises
and a customer's needs doesn't make sense going forward.
More intriguing in Phipps's observation regarding the procurement
mentality is the challenge its represents to customers. If
you're used to buying in a certain way and your suppliers
no longer choose to participate in that process, well, you've
got some adjusting to do as well.
This is a mostly unexplored aspect of open source. Most open
source enthusiasts overlook the cultural differences that
open source represents, preferring to focus on the undoubted
benefits of free software, easy redistribution, product modification,
and so on. To them, the fact that an organization might find
it difficult to understand how to most effectively use open
source, given a long history of relying on vendors to do most
of the education and communication, is – at best –
a minor nit or – at worst – reflective of a Neanderthal
outlook.
Nevertheless, the intense interest by companies in creating
open source governance initiatives indicates that many, if
not most, are not comfortable with the lack of formal process
typical of historic open source use. In some respects, implementing
open source governance is an attempt to augment traditional
processes to make them relevant to a vastly changed environment.
Hot on the heels of my visit to Sun came news of a new IDC
survey of enterprise open source users. One surprising conclusion
from the project is that most end users are not implementing
their open source-based projects with the help of system integrators,
but are instead performing the technical work themselves.
IDC concluded this is why there aren't any really successful
open source consulting firms -- there isn't any need for them,
because users are doing it for themselves.
This is a bit puzzling. One of the growth stories of the
IT industry over the past ten years has been the role of system
integrators, brought in to do technical work that IT shops
prefer to avoid or, perhaps, are unable to perform themselves
due to talent shortages. In nearly every IT domain, whether
database, security, application implementation, or what-have-you,
professional services firms have sprung up and taken on huge
portions of the technical work associated with those domains.
Yet, when it comes to open source, these same outsource-mad
uses prefer to roll their own. Why? And doesn't that behavior
contradict the somewhat lost demeanor of a procurement-oriented
IT organization when faced with the use of open source? In
other words, if you're so used to relying on someone else,
either a software vendor or a service provider, how in the
world do you manage to take charge of your own open source
implementations?
I pondered long and hard about this. Out of my ruminations,
I decided this open source self-sufficiency implies one of
the following:
They're lying: Even though they say they're
doing it themselves, they're not. Or at least, not really.
While they're saying they're doing the work without outside
assistance, they're not counting the temporary contractors
they hired to do specific technical work. When they say they
didn't use outside system integrators, they just mean they
didn't hire one of the big, impressive firms.
They're not really implementing open source (1):
By this I mean, they're not really putting real, unvarnished
open source into production. They're installing Red Hat Linux,
which to my mind, doesn't really count as open source (that
is to say, it's typically wrapped up in so much handholding
from a major vendor like IBM or HP, it might as well be proprietary,
so much does it resemble the procurement model of software
use.
They're not really implementing open source (2):
They're not really putting systems into production -- they're
using open source all right, but it's being implemented by
their architecture group (or advanced development, or research
lab, or whatever term they use to describe the eccentric,
brilliant engineers who live in that special area down the
hall and work on wild-eyed projects. What they've implemented
is a proof-of-concept, or a special project. They used their
really smart group to prove that open source can do the job.
Now, when it comes to the future, when they consider how to
staff regular projects that will use open source, well, they
haven't quite figured out how they'll deal with that. Probably
call one of the big system integrators and see if they can
do the job.
They changed their behavior: While they've
relied on system integrators in the past to help them with
big proprietary projects, seeing their involvement as just
part of the entire investment necessary to implement one of
these behemoths, they've taken a strategic, calculated approach
to their use of open source. Recognizing that the economics
of open source preclude heavy vendor (and integrator) investment
in sales, these organizations have concluded that they need
to beef up their technical teams in order to successfully
use open source. Seen in this light, the investment in technical
talent is part of a long-term approach to drive down overall
IT costs. Consequently, they're prepared to be self-sufficient
and can avoid the use of system integrators.
I'm not sure which of these explanations is nearest the mark.
Perhaps the truth is a mixture of two or more. While I might
like to believe the final reason, since it accords so well
with my view of the opportunity for open source, it must be
said that it flies in the face of actual IT behavior. While
many IT organizations pay lip service to long-term planning,
very few actually practice it, particularly when it comes
to deliberately building technical skills. Moreover, believing
in this requires one to dismiss the procurement-focused culture
described earlier. If there's one thing I've learned during
my career, it's the power of inertia, particularly when it
comes to organizational assumptions and processes.
With all that said, we're left with a paradox: an acknowledgment
that most IT organizations carry a set of behaviors and processes
that we may describe as procurement-focused, with all that
implies, and a survey that implies (among other things) that
IT organizations have successfully transformed themselves
into self-directed, self-guided system integrators.
For my own part, I believe that we're only beginning the
open source revolution, and that open source is still penetrating
into mainstream IT. IDC performed an honest survey, and faithfully
reported what their respondents said, but that their sample
was skewed. I believe there is an IT silent majority out there
still wondering what to do about open source on a long-term
basis.
Navica News
You can hear me speak at these upcoming events:
March 4, 7:00 p.m.: Black Duck BOF panel with myself, Dan
Bricklin (Visicalc co-founder), Gary Phillips (Symantec),
Bill McQuaide (Black Duck Software): "Leverage of Die:
Challenges and Opportunities in the Era of Mixed Code",
SDWest conference
If you are interested in having me speak at your
organization:
Contact me directly via email.
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postings on CIO.com
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