Very interesting read! I do see a growing movement towards commoditization of software development as a result of open source software. In that respect, I totally agree with you. However, I don't think that this will necessarily result in hurting Microsoft. Two reasons:
1) Parts of software applications are much more conducive to commoditization whereas the other parts still need much cognitive abilities. I believe companies like Microsoft will learn to take advantage of the commoditization and will be able to produce software more inexpensively. (please see my blog at http://www.swstrategies.com/blog/?p=5)
2) No doubt that the prominence of software running on personal computers (read XP, Vista, Office, etc.) is diminishing, and we will see many more web based applications. But I can not believe that Microsoft is unaware of this fact. I bet Microsoft is already positioning itself towards being a major provider for these we applications.
In near future, I do believe that Microsoft will not be the only 500 pounds gorilla in the field, but it will still be a power to reckon with.
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Very interesting read! I do see a growing movement towards commoditization of software development as a result of open source software. In that respect, I totally agree with you. However, I don't think that this will necessarily result in hurting Microsoft. Two reasons:
1) Parts of software applications are much more conducive to commoditization whereas the other parts still need much cognitive abilities. I believe companies like Microsoft will learn to take advantage of the commoditization and will be able to produce software more inexpensively. (please see my blog at http://www.swstrategies.com/blog/?p=5)
2) No doubt that the prominence of software running on personal computers (read XP, Vista, Office, etc.) is diminishing, and we will see many more web based applications. But I can not believe that Microsoft is unaware of this fact. I bet Microsoft is already positioning itself towards being a major provider for these we applications.
In near future, I do believe that Microsoft will not be the only 500 pounds gorilla in the field, but it will still be a power to reckon with.