sure wish I could read the article without registering and purchasing it :-|
http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?id=633035&ref=g_sitelink
But that fact leads me to the thought that perhaps Gartner isn't as
revolutionary as one might think.
Cultural matches need to happen no matter the software. But the
difference with FLOSS is that it's libraries who are (or could be) doing
the cultural matching. Much the same as ILL works (after many years of
dev and lots of continuing staff time and energy), FLOSS development
could work. That idea will take time to ingrain in upper management for
sure, but I *do* see movement in that direction. Witness Joe Lucia's
post on NGC4lib in November, 2007:
http://article.gmane.org/gmane.culture.libraries.ngc4lib/3424
James
K.G. Schneider wrote:
Sorry, Alexander, I disagree. Gartner may sound creaky but under the starchy
language, this is pretty revolutionary advice.
Look for a sustainable community - yes, for any product, that's key.
Cultural match - that one is an interesting observation. Introducing open
source development in organizations that have revolved around vendor-based
relationships requires change management. I happen to think that the biggest
culture shift needs to occur at the top, where it can be difficult to shift
from the smoke-filled-room model, based on scarcity and secrecy and lots of
money, to a more communitarian model, but it's also true that staff who have
always worked with traditional vendors may have to adapt engrained
practices.
The SOA-I'll yield on that one. I think there's a Gartner template that
requires the use of SOA every 500 words.
The question of OSS not built on open standards has *cough* come up just in
the past year. Of course, it could be pointed out that avoiding open
standards, period, is a bad thing, and that commercial software is rife with
such examples, far more than OSS... but still, it's not bad advice. (Cough
into your arm to avoid sharing the flu; you'll also avoid sharing other
airborne diseases, but the first statement still valid.)
The last one means figure out whether you'll hire support or build it from
within or (and perhaps this is the ideal advice) develop a blend of each.
Karen G. Schneider
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
-----Original Message-----
From: Alexander Johannesen [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2008 1:37 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Gartner on OSS
Let's try the litmus test for enterprisey business bullshit : porridge ;
"Recommendations for Users
* Look for a sustainable community that has a critical mass of skills
supporting porridge.
* Look for a cultural match between the porridge community and
your internal developers and user culture as it enhances communication
and perceived user satisfaction.
* Prepare an SOA that can integrate IT services from many sources,
including porridge.
* Avoid porridge that is not built on open standards.
* Make a conscious risk-based decision about whether you will depend on
internal resources or external services for your porridge
implementations."
In short, another template piece where [insert your favourite thing
here] is wrapped around generic advice. Do they say anything that's
specific to what open-source is all about?
Alex (without reading the darn article...)
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------------------------------------------ http://shelter.nu/blog/ -------
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James R. Jacobs
International Documents Librarian
Green Library
Stanford University
(650) 725-1030
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://jonssonlibrary.stanford.edu
AIM: LibrarianJames Jabber: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"A library is an arsenal of liberty." Anonymous
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