Chronicles of a Wandering Mind

Tarus has a very interesting post where he reflects on the book predictable irrational and what it may mean for IT management field and the business models. A lot to digest in the post, and I’ll have to read that book for sure.

In the post Tarus says:
“I’m often surprised by the success of open core software, especially in the US. To me it is a bit irrational. Why give up per-node priced proprietary software with the attendant vendor lock-in for cheaper per-node priced proprietary software with vendor lock-in, even if there is an open component? ”

Good question. Why indeed?

Borrowing from Tarus’s food analogy, let’s analyze different options available to people in the IT management field.

(Big 4) proprietary management software vendors are like expensive restaurants. They use loads of resources to convince people that they have a great, luxurious restaurant with exquisite food. They promise that they use the best ingredients, but don’t let you in the kitchen or tell you what the ingredients are. There is no menu with the prices; you have to pay upfront for the meal, will likely have to pay more later and there are no refunds. You may even be asked to sign a paper that says you won’t tell bad things about them to others.

In short, you take a big risk as you have no idea what is in what you’re eating but hey,  most people eat in these places, so how bad can it be?

Smaller proprietary vendors are like more economical restaurants. They are similar to expensive restaurants described above, but more accessible and attentive to your needs since they are smaller. They often (not always) do have a menu and lower prices. As the costs are lower, it is less of a financial risk, but you may instead be worried about their survival or associate cheap with low quality.

Open source projects are like communal cookouts. People invite you to come cook and eat with them. You can not only see the “kitchen” but also get in it and cook yourself. If you’re not a good cook or into cooking, no worries. You can still help out other ways: wash the dishes, clean up etc. Recipes are not secret, but may not be written down clearly either. Nonetheless, you can observe others cook, ask questions (nicely), and learn the recipes.
You don’t have to contribute but no one likes a free loader

Open source services vendors (like OpenNMS group) are cookout organizers. They typically volunteer to do most of the work, organize the cookout, publicize it, help people join in the action etc. They may also offer services for a fee. If you just want to eat, don’t have time, don’t really like cooking yourself, don’t want to bring your own silverware, or don’t like cleaning up, you can pay them to these things for you.

Open core vendors are restaurants that also organize cookouts. Like the open source services vendors, they organize and participate in the cookouts, and do a lot of the heavy lifting. Their cookouts are often more polished as they typically have (human and material) resources dedicated to make the cookouts success.
For them, cookouts are a way to showcase some of their dishes and cultivate a community familiar with their offerings. If some people prefer to have a sit down dinner or eat some of the dishes like “Broiled lobster with crab stuffing, vegetable, rice and mango salsa” that may not be available in the cookouts, they can always go to the restaurant and have a more traditional dining experience.

I may have pushed the analogy little too far, but it does make sense to me

So going back to Tarus’us question: Why do people choose open core solutions?

In my experience, most people don’t care whether the software is open source or open core or even proprietary. I can anticipate that Tarus may not agree with this statement. In contrast to Tarus, majority of the people I meet in IT management field are quite far from the open source world. As a result, I have a different experience.

People I meet often prefer eating in a restaurant, have good service, and willing to pay a fair price for it.  They don’t necessarily care whether they are paying for the meal or the waiters time. Having tried the free dishes and seen the ingredients and how the food is cooked; they have a certain level of trust. In short, they may feel they have the best of both worlds in open core companies.

The difference between the open core and open source models may be vast if you’re inside the open source world, but it’s not significant if you’re outside it. At the end, it comes down to how good the food tastes and how much does it cost to eat it (not just to buy it).