Open Source : Free to fish but how?
As with any open source software, JBoss, is at times poorly documented or not documented at all. It therefore requires a significant investment of time and effort to learn the intricacies of these applications. For, medium IT firms, who seek to reduce cost by moving to open source based architectures, there is always a resistance to purchasing commercial support, especially when the support comes with a price tag of a few thousand dollars. These firms, with smaller budgets, typically seek first mover advantages to offset the lack of resources which enable larger firms to reduce learning curves, and utilize economies of scale to move into newer technologies when their viability is better ensured. To meet such a goal, instance based support, is rarely provided as it is found to be uneconomical and unviable.Conversely, firms promoting these newer open source technologies, seek a revenue stream that will enable them maintain nd promote the acceptance of the technology and provide for an adequate return. A visit to the forums created to support JBoss, provide one such example. Individuals seeking help here are typically drawn from these smaller firms. They are faced with tight deadlines to execute a solution using ingrdient technologies that provide scant information. The information available is typically an example demonstrating a particular scenario. However, as with most things in business, the example is usually a little different from the example. This inevitably leads to frustration with open source in general and with individual products in particular.
It appears therefore, that a need clearly exists in the market for instance based support that is able to meet the needs of this small segment. Ironically it is this small segment of first movers that will determine the eventual success or demise of the product by the buzz (positive or negative) that they create.
(c) 2004 Vivek Pinto For more details please visit us at Wonomi Technologies
posted by vivek pinto @ 8:28 PM
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