Red Hat CEO: Vista marks end of 'planned software'

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Level of detail..

Most business requirements aren't beyond the abilities of techies

For software such as Content management, collaboration, document storage, and the like, I would agree with you - as I've stated earlier, there are pretty static business requirements for this type of software, and they can mainly be managed through a database alone.

In the case of ERP, CRM, and SCM software (accounting, distribution, job costing, etc) I would HIGHLY disagree that techies would have the knowledge to develop this type of software any more than the accountants or operations staff who will be using it could. There is too much required knowledge for either camp to be successful.

For this type of software, you need collaboration from many specialists (HIGHLY skilled programmers, Accounting Specialists, Operations Management Specialists, etc) and project management from people that understand the fundamentals of each camp who can manage the communication of requirements from the Accounting/Operations people to the software architects.

Ask any given programmer, for example, what IFRS is, and how it differs from GAAP, and you'll probably get a blank stare, however understanding and applying the difference is crucial for any ERP system that hopes to be used by a publicly traded enterprise where there are legal ramifications to the capabilities of the software.

To their credit I think it is completely within the realm of OSS to create these enterprise level applications. However they lack the leadership for these endeavors.

Fundamentally, yes, we agree that Open Source software lacks this kind of leadership, but it isn't just because of lack of interest. Open Source projects are still generally organized, defined, and run by programmers - little knowledge of complex business requirements. This hurdle needs to be cleared before Open Source can even begin to churn out this type of enterprise software.

Posted by: daftkey   Posted on: 10/20/08 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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