To be fair to Mr. Gurango. I mentioned this article to him and he said that the paper totally got him out of context. BTW, Mr. Gurango is my ex-boss at Microsoft Great Plains. And he's no longer with Microsoft Great Plains too. Currently, Mr. Gurango is investing in two Open-Source startups, one is just starting and the other one is doing well so far and might exit from his tutelage by next year. Of course the name of the companies are not "open source" so if you ask me who they are I can't really give any answers. His plan for these companies is to become globally competitive for the next 5 years. He also provides "Mentor-capital" to those companies which honestly I believe that some of the open source zealots here lacks and no wonder India is always ahead of us no matter how the words are coming out in the streets that Filipinos are better. It doesn't really matter they not only have VCs but the MCs as well. In case you have a one-page open source business plan that you can pitch, his email is always open at "pitch-at-gurango-dot-com"
> Below is my reaction to a column by Mr. Joey Gurango. His column > appeared in the July 12, 2004 issue of Computerworkld Philippines and > can be accessed at this URL: > > > http://www.itnetcentral.com/computerworld/article.asp?id=13725&leveli=0&info=Computerworld> > Here is my reaction: > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > I was struck by the lack of imagination -- and the crass commercialism > -- of Mr. Joey Gurango's column entitled "Open Source vs. Commercial > Software" which appeared in July 12, 2004, issue of Computerworld > Philippines. In particular, his closing paragraphs offer such a > thoroughly myopic view of business and overly shrewd assessment of his > customers that I felt the need to react. > > Mr. Gurango states: > > Today, the vast majority of your potential customers have existing > investments in software -- operating systems, applications, tools > etc. -- that will make them more favorably disposed to open urce or > commercial platforms. They have already made their platform choice; > therefore, it will take a lot of time, effort, and money to convince > them to change their choice. You're better off spending that time, > effort, and money convincing them to buy a solution that runs on > their chosen platform. > > So, guess which software platform those potential customers have > investments in -- open source or commercial? > > How would you like to spend your time, effort, and money -- selling > or evangelizing? > > Judging from the questions Mr. Gurango wants us to ask, it is pretty > obvious that he has missed the boat as far as the commercial viability > of open source software is concerned. He seems to have conveniently > forgotten two things: > > First, he seems to think that customers who have "made their platform > choice" have cast this decision in stone, at least for the foreseeavble > future. This idea is dead wrong. > > Smart customers look at the bottom line. They are not necessarily tied > to a platform if they know there is a better, cheaper, or most > cost-effective alternative. That is exactly what open source software > offers, and that is what more and more companies are discovering. Mr. > Gurango can continue to offer less cost-effective solutions to those > who don't know any better, but how long can he count on that customer > base to remain ignorant? > > The advantages of open source can no longer be hidden by Microsoft's > (and others') deceptive advertising and marketing campaigns. The cat is > out of the bag. The question developers and solutions providers should > be asking is: will they be in a position to take advantage of the > coming wave or be left behind? > > Second, Mr. Gurango seems to think that all businessmen are purely > commerical animals who should seek only profit. Call me an idealist, > but I think that even businessmen are supposed to offer customers > quality first, and *then* make a profit because of their superior > products. In other words, profit should go to those who choose to > serve, not to those who choose to deceive. > > Part of the mission of an IT business, therefore, is precisely to > evangelize. We should not be in busines *only* to make profit. We are > in the IT business because we believe we can make a real contribution > to our society. That is part and parcel of the ideals driving the open > source movement. > > Since Mr. Gurango, however, makes his profits from selling products > that restrict choice and lock-in customers, I can understand why he > has failed to appreciate these ideals. > > But that's no excuse. We should be here to serve, not to act like > corporate lemmings. > > God bless! > -- > Pro-Life Philippines website -- http://www.prolife.org.ph > --[Manny > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Member: Philippine League for Democratic Telecommunications > "Affordable Access for All" > --[Open Minds > Philippines]--------------------[openminds.linux.org.ph]-- > > > -- > Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List > [EMAIL PROTECTED] (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph) > Official Website: http://plug.linux.org.ph > Searchable Archives: http://marc.free.net.ph > . > To leave, go to http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/plug > . > Are you a Linux newbie? To join the newbie list, go to > http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/ph-linux-newbie -- Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List [EMAIL PROTECTED] (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph) Official Website: http://plug.linux.org.ph Searchable Archives: http://marc.free.net.ph . To leave, go to http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/plug . Are you a Linux newbie? To join the newbie list, go to http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/ph-linux-newbie
