Computerworld UK "Open source unleashed"

Learning French...a lesson in open source acceptance

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:18:00 GMT

I don't know how I overlooked this article (originally) in InfoWorld (and reproduced on ComptuerworldUK) last month about open source in France but it is an interesting read. My only qualm was that the article should have taken regional realities into account, i.e. North American.

The next step for open source revenue models?

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:55:00 GMT

After reading Matthew Aslett's followup to Matt Asay's original entry on the problem with open source revenue models, I started churning my wheels upstairs.

Open source overview

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:05:00 GMT

Here are some interesting tidbits of open source news/updates from the past week or so:

Tactical open source for now...strategic open source later?

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:07:00 GMT

A corollary to the explosion of open source within the enterprise is it's evolution as an objective. In that light, open source has evolved from remote unknown/curiosity into somewhat of a key IT objective.

Can open source continue its charge up the application stack?

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:09:00 GMT

Since it seems as though questions, which two to three years back centred around whether open source is here to stay, are now focused on what's next for the open source adoption wave. While there are certainly differences that exist cross-industry, there are a number of absolute realities that will govern how fast/solidly open source continues up the application stack.

Open source databases and the DaaS market...Where will it lead?

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:48:00 GMT

As enterprises look to scale support for a mounting number of applications, I expect that Database-as-a-service (DaaS) options will emerge from the recently nascent cloud computing infrastructures.

Additional commentary on the open source database market

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:34:00 GMT

Last week I got an email from Paul Breach over at IBPhoenix who was kind enough to supply some comments about my post on the database market. Paul stated that,

Thoughts on the open source database market

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:22:00 GMT

As a precursor to OSCON this week, Forrester stepped forward with a new report titled "Market Update: Open Source Databases," one that tags the current market for open source database market at $850 million, with growth to $1.2 billion by 2010.

Thoughts on the latest release candidate for MySQL 5.1

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:15:00 GMT

Now that MySQL has decided to ready the final Release Candidate (RC) for version 5.1 instead of moving forward with a General Availability (GA) release and Michael Widenius has extended an bug filing call to its user community.

Getting the bus moving...The topic of inertia

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:00:00 GMT

Lately, facing the prospect of picking up blogging after some significant time away from it, I've been pondering the topic of inertia. Most are already familiar with the term, but underestimate how this fundamental principle is applicable outside classical physics...even when examining the topic of attitudes towards open source in the year 2008.

While I was gone...

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:57:00 GMT

After a two month hiatus, I'm back. For starters...to those who posted comments on my blog, reached out to me through Entiva's website or emailed me directly I apologize for not responding in a timely manner.

Pursuing a middle ground

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 09:34:00 GMT

I have been unable to view newly posted comments through my TypePad administration console since earlier this year. I was unaware of the fact until after a recent maintenance outage for TypePad I was able to see the deluge of comments that have been posted. I have yet to determine exactly why this was the case, but am looking into it.

Towards more progressive open source

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 11:07:00 GMT

I found Oracle's statements on open source, tendered at the Linux/Open Source on Wall Street conference, intriguing to say the least. I'll begin by making it clear that I don't doubt the veracity of the database giant's experience with its customer base.

Open source ecosystems and collaboration as the currency of innovation

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:35:00 GMT

Thus far I've been able to resist an annually occurring itch to post a set of predictions for the newly minted year. Unfortunately this means I won't delve into how 2008 is going to somehow lead to the dissolution of the proprietary software development model (I don't see the former ever fully occurring) or why a given open source category/product/company is set to become the next world-beater (if I knew that I probably wouldn't be posting on this blog).

Thoughts on an (impending) identity crisis for FOSS

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:03:00 GMT

For those who may not be aware, Matthew Aslett (one of my personal favorite blogging analysts) has tendered a strong post titled "Is FOSS heading for an identity crisis?” I thought the points raised therein are well-stated and spot-on, especially the parallels between the gay rights and Green movements.

Tackling the 800-pound ESB Gorillas: An open source perspective

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 17:09:00 GMT

Undoubtedly, as the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) continues to emerge as a hallmark of service-oriented architecture (SOA), the competition between open source and proprietary products will continue to heat up.

Open source support services: A buyer's checklist

alex.fletcher@entivagroup.com — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 16:54:00 GMT

The rapid proliferation of open source in the enterprise has been accompanied by an increase in third-party consultants, service providers and distribution firms offering support services. Customers have been left to sort through this set of choices for the maintenance and support of open source platforms.