Open Source as the platform for the things you don’t want SAP and Microsoft to do?
Many enterprises have two main application technologies settled in their IT landscape. Everything what has to do with office, client infrastructure and local productivity is typically Microsoft. Everything that has to do with enterprise resource planning (ERP) is supported by SAP (or maybe Oracle). Both technology vendors (Microsoft and SAP) are strong market players and leaders in their markets. But both players also try to enlarge their footprint, be it by adding applications or infrastructure elements. There’s no total overlap of the capabilities yet, but Microsoft has been adding more and more ERP/CRM/Workflow/… type functionality over time and SAP has been extending its portal stack. Many companies are concerned by this duopoly type of situation in their IT and are looking for additional vendors and technology platforms. Open Source can be an excellent choice here. Open Source is typically integration friendly, so connects well to SAP and Microsoft products. With Open Source you can better decide what pieces you want to use and what not, so the overlap with already existing applications can be minimized. And with Open Source you only pay what you use, if you pay at all. More and more companies are recognizing these advantages and have started to implement Open Source technologies and products and to build the needed skill base to cope with it. And, it’s not totally unthinkable to actually reduce the footprint Microsoft and SAP are having in the enterprise, by moving functionality into the Open Source stack.
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