Comments on: Technology for startups – Open Source vs Contemporary?

By: Yogi

Yogi — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 14:51:00 +0000

Ramjee

I think any start up in a field that has its core as Tech (any kind) is better of with Open Source. The reason being proprietary technologies may let you concentrate on your job now, but what if the way you are expected to do your job changes? After all markets are dynamic and ever changing.

Every few years (now) the way we do things is turned on its head. Having the skills and the tech in house (or dispersed over a very wide network aka Open Source) is always a better choice than waiting for your centralized proprietary solution provider who may or may not adapt.

Also Open Source allows many start ups and as a result ideas to be incubated at a fairly low cost. So it is actually a benefit for all (consumers). Open source is usually viewed as a Leftist-Communist thing among pro-proprietary groups. But they could not be farther from the truth. Open Source is the closest we have gotten to the (hidden hand) free market system envisioned by Adam Smith (hopefully more on this later.)

And though the finance aspect cannot be neglected, tomorrow even if Inasra were to make it big, the only solutions running my company will be open source. In fact I will be willing to pay premium for Open Sourced solutions.

And finally if your business is even remotely connected to Tech, then stop treating your tech side as cost centers, they will be your revenue generators in the long run if incubated well.

We lived in a world where power (force) could get you money and skills (the middle ages.)
And then there was the industrial age where money could get you force and skills.
We are now in the age where skills and skills alone can get you money and power. And the reason is because the money factor has been all but removed from your Tech infrastructure.
(Insight from Alvin Toffler)

Of the three which would you want to live in?

By: Ramjee

Ramjee — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:34:00 +0000

I would say its more to do with the finances than with anything else. As a startup if I have spend a fortune on licenses I can better sit back and continue doing my job.
Which one to choose out of the choice is left to team, mostly considering the criteria of ease of development, availability of skills.
What do you think?

By: Jayanth

Jayanth — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 06:41:00 +0000

well i agre to most of what you wrote there..
Its a nice article but the title is highly subjective..

Cause Contemporary cant always be on that side of the fence.. If you look at it, Unix Kernels, TCP/IP, etc are Contemporary and yet kicking.. A more appropriate comparison would be Open Source vs Proprietary technology.. The very fact that you are portraying that the future belongs to the Open Source community would be the highlight in once such comparision..

good going anyways and Welcome to the world of blogging..