Do users want freedom from vendors, or freedom AND vendors? Why can’t they get the best of both worlds?
Mon 14 Apr 2014
New research from GigaOm on behalf of the Open Daylight Project, a Linux Foundation collaborative project, finds a strong bias from users for open source and a clear majority in favour of open source from a commercial vendor. This blog from Neela Jacques argues it is fully rational to want both and there has been an evolution in the software industry where people want the best of both worlds: the flexibility, freedom and neutrality of an open source solution with the advantages of support and services that a commercial vendor can provide.
Excerpt
“People have seen open source projects create de facto standards through common code development. They want the advantages of an open platform that that nobody controls to avoid things like vendor lock-in. If their needs or requirements change, if their solution goes end-of-life, they feel confident they can migrate elsewhere with less disruption.More specifically from the report, networking pros want open source to be:
- Created using formal design and development practices
- Validated by strict integration and testing procedures
- Delivered and deployed via proven tools and techniques
- Supported by trusted programs, processes, and people
http://www.opendaylight.org/blogs/2014/03/do-users-want-freedom-vendors-or-freedom-and-vendors
