Open source suppliers and demand

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>> There is actually more incentive to innovate with open source. Since the product is commoditized, innovation is required to keep ahead of the competition. <<

How is there more incentive to innovate with OSS? Is the profit motive greater with OSS than with proprietary software? Have you ever wondered why it is that there is more competition among players to get hired by professional baseball, basketball, or football teams, than there is to get hired by teams in smaller leagues or by amateur teams? Don?t you realize that a very major reason for this is money?

Have you ever wondered why when someone says that he is a professional, he gets more attention and respect than if he says he is an amateur or he does something for the simple love of it? It is because the best people tend to go after professional positions which require higher standards of performance and accountability ? in order to be paid well.

It is a flawed notion to believe that replacing professionals with amateurs will lead to more innovations, because innovations tend to come from the best people, of which the overwhelming majority expect to get paid well.

>> Furthermore, within companies that have proprietary products, OSS promotes more innovation by allowing the focusing of resources on the work that will differentiate that company. The well-understood components can be collaborated on via open source initiatives with other companies and the public at large. This is why I have no fear of OSS causing a downward spiral for programmers. It will give us well-tested components and actually allow us to focus on the more interesting work. <<

I do not see how the OSS model of development leads to greater innovation over a proprietary model in a way that leads to greater profitability. Are you saying e.g. that Red Hat?s model of having its customers share in its development (for lack of resources to do otherwise) is a better model than a model like MS? that uses thousands of very well paid programmers - many of which are the best and brightest around?

While I believe that there are advantages to the OSS model, it was never originally conceived of as a way to make money efficiently, or be innovative in a way that supports this objective. Remember with ALL businesses, it is about the profit motive. Any company, in any industry, that is able to orient its business efficiently towards this goal, is the one that?s successful. In this regard, GPL/OSS companies are a contradiction in terms. Because here are companies that embrace philosophies designed to undermine the sale of software (no private ownership of IP that anyone can sell), yet as companies, they have a responsibility to maximize their returns for their shareholders.

Posted by: P. Douglas   Posted on: 05/19/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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