Linux and Open Source Consulting HOWTO
If only sitting were required, all frogs would be Buddhas"
You've probably noticed the rapid rise of Linux and
Apache, and glimpsed the commercial opportunities for open source
software. 25% compounded growth in the server share, 128% in embedded
systems, 24% market share in servers, 5-10% in desktops; by any
metric, smart business is going open source.
This mass migration to Linux, Apache and other OSS
systems needs open source technical support and professional services;
while easy money can be made fitting open source support into
traditional molds, open source consulting must re-focus toward aiding
clients in the transition out from a proprietary development
model.
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How do we profit from Free Software? IBM marketing uses the
phrase "Underneath, over top and all around" to mean
providing hardware, applications and professional services. This is
not a bad view, but it is only a start. Open source consulting is
not just about selling iron and vehicles for applications. It is
also about guiding business in the transition to a new paradigm in
software methodology. We can use the IBM slogan, but we extend it to
include software architecture and corporate culture.
Taking a free ride on free software, providing end-user support
for installation, system integration or API programming is not
enough. Unless our clients understand open source methodology, unless
we architect systems with an eye to opening core systems and
leveraging community cooperation in its development, we will realize
only very modest gains from Linux and other open source systems; the
only cost we will save in a free ride is the cost of the software
license, one of the smallest components in total project costs. The
value of open source software is not in its pricetag, but in its
methodology.
The links and bibliography on this page include papers on the
meaning and application of open source methods; this is the stuff
they won't teach you in the certification course, but this is what
you will need to know to survive the revolution.
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Presentation Paper and Slides
Web and Print References
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