Economic slowdown had a huge impact on the financial institutions around the world. Recession has forced these financial institutions to take a look at their budget as well as the technology that they are using. In times like this open source technology is growing in the capital markets because of increased cost pressures. Many Wall Street companies are now adopting open source even though there are many who still believe that any software that they develop is proprietary and has a competitive edge.
"What the crisis has done is shattered the orthodoxy in what is accepted as the correct way to build out systems, and it has allowed people to think more creatively about how their software works," comments Graham Miller, Co-Founder and CEO of Marketcetera, an open source platform for building automated trading systems to Wall Street and Technology. Many banks and brokers have been running open source applications like Linux and the free Apache web servers in the back office. Now, open source is finding its way to the front office trading desk as well.
Many open source companies are booming in times like these. One such example is Esper, which provides an open-source event stream processing and complex event processing (CEP) solution. Esper is already built. Instead of being a standalone server product that runs as a separate product, it's a library that companies can link in with their own proprietary stuff.
Recently, many Wall Street IT developers have started participating in open source technology projects. Firms like Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Borse Systems participated in the open source (AMQP) Advanced Message Queing (popular open source project among the financial services industry) Working Group and collaborated on standards for messaging infrastructure. "AMQP is not just a financial service [project], but it's something that has been taken seriously in the financial services space. Tough economy has opened the growth of open source. You get your base products for free, and you're essentially getting innovation in that product for free, because people are contributing and improving the software all the time," said Kevin McPartland, Senior Analyst at TABB Group to Wall Street and Technology.
Cost still remains the most important reason especially when many major vendors have increased the licensing fees of their product. Buying a Trading system from a vendor will require lengthy and costly customization. "We've built out a platform product that provides out-of-the-box components for market data, signal analysis engines, market connectivity and user interface capabilities to exchanges, ECNs, brokers and lots of different destinations," says Miller. Marketcetera launched Version 1.0 of its Trading Platform, which can be downloaded free-of-charge from its Web site. They have tried to follow Red Hat way of providing fee-based service and support. The company integrates several open-source technologies including QuickFIX/J, a messaging engine for the FIX protocol, and QuantLib, a free library for quantitative finance and Esper.
However, despite open source company's claim many experts doubt that open source is cheaper than software vendors. Custom development of open source software can be more costly than proprietary software. "It might look cheaper on paper but if you look at what you want to do with it, and it requires a substantial engineering effort rather than a commercial product, then it's not necessarily the most effective solution," says Adam Honore, Senior Analyst at Aite Group. He further adds that there could be support, maintenance and accountability issues with some open source vendors.
Agencies
Showing posts with label open source. Show all posts
Showing posts with label open source. Show all posts
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Open Source projects dominated by IT vendors
More vendors are getting involved in open source project despite the economic slowdown. Gartner has reported many key findings related to open source in Predicts 2009: The Evolving Open-Source Software Model report. Gartner reports that 50 percent of direct commercial revenue attributed to open-source products or services will come from projects under a single vendor's patronage. Many new projects are being commercialized early in their maturity phases - often by a dot-com startup and before a broad community "network effect" is firmly established. These projects are often under the patronage of a single vendor that employs nearly all key code contributors.
According to Gartner's key findings, driven by expanding mainstream IT adoption, open-source usage profiles are shifting to more-conservative, risk-versus-reward dynamics. As a result, new adopters now place an increasing premium on commercial support channels to establish service-level agreements on par with closed-source alternatives. Gartner recommends that companies should understand the role that a broad and vendor-independent community plays in mature open-source projects. More specifically, keep in mind that intellectual-property warrants and indemnities are strongest when vendors maintain more control over the source code pedigree.
The report also says that through 2011, less than 50 percent of Global 2000 IT organizations would have implemented a formal open-source adoption and management policy as part of an enterprise software asset management strategy. Open Source Software (OSS) has become unavoidable for most IT organizations. Open source is leveraged in virtually all mainstream enterprises. A comprehensive enterprise open-source adoption policy is the most important critical path towards establishing an optimal balance between risk and reward; however, less than 30 percent of IT organizations have such a policy in place.
Agencies
According to Gartner's key findings, driven by expanding mainstream IT adoption, open-source usage profiles are shifting to more-conservative, risk-versus-reward dynamics. As a result, new adopters now place an increasing premium on commercial support channels to establish service-level agreements on par with closed-source alternatives. Gartner recommends that companies should understand the role that a broad and vendor-independent community plays in mature open-source projects. More specifically, keep in mind that intellectual-property warrants and indemnities are strongest when vendors maintain more control over the source code pedigree.
The report also says that through 2011, less than 50 percent of Global 2000 IT organizations would have implemented a formal open-source adoption and management policy as part of an enterprise software asset management strategy. Open Source Software (OSS) has become unavoidable for most IT organizations. Open source is leveraged in virtually all mainstream enterprises. A comprehensive enterprise open-source adoption policy is the most important critical path towards establishing an optimal balance between risk and reward; however, less than 30 percent of IT organizations have such a policy in place.
Agencies
Friday, June 12, 2009
Google eyes smaller firms to acquire
Google Inc is looking to buy smaller technology companies to enhance its technology portfolio, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in an interview with the Fox Business network
Schmidt said Google plans to focus on the cloud, mobile, and open source distribution of software in the next year.
"We have been (looking to acquire)," Schmidt said. "We have been wandering around looking at all of the different companies.
With the big ones we haven't come across anything we've particularly liked. We are definitely talking to a number of smaller companies but we've done that routinely." "We primarily look for technology. It's a typical build versus buy.
How long does it take us to build it with our engineers, versus there are already engineers in this other company that have built this thing."
The chief executive's statements come as the Internet search giant's growth slows from double digit percentages amid global economic turmoil and a sharp, industry-wide decline in advertising.
On Tuesday Google's green energy czar Bill Weihl said the company is closing in on its goal of producing renewable energy at a price cheaper than coal.
Google, known for its Internet search engine, in late 2007 said it would invest in companies and do research of its own to produce affordable renewable energy -- at a price less than burning coal -- within a few years.
The often-quirky company cast the move as a philanthropic effort to address climate change, but the work is done by a unit of the for-profit corporation, Google.org, and Google investors will profit from any breakthroughs.
Google's investment has been modest, so far. The company has put less than $50 million into clean energy start-ups, while the efforts of Weihl's group are probably about $10 million or $20 million.
Schmidt said Google plans to focus on the cloud, mobile, and open source distribution of software in the next year.
"We have been (looking to acquire)," Schmidt said. "We have been wandering around looking at all of the different companies.
With the big ones we haven't come across anything we've particularly liked. We are definitely talking to a number of smaller companies but we've done that routinely." "We primarily look for technology. It's a typical build versus buy.
How long does it take us to build it with our engineers, versus there are already engineers in this other company that have built this thing."
The chief executive's statements come as the Internet search giant's growth slows from double digit percentages amid global economic turmoil and a sharp, industry-wide decline in advertising.
On Tuesday Google's green energy czar Bill Weihl said the company is closing in on its goal of producing renewable energy at a price cheaper than coal.
Google, known for its Internet search engine, in late 2007 said it would invest in companies and do research of its own to produce affordable renewable energy -- at a price less than burning coal -- within a few years.
The often-quirky company cast the move as a philanthropic effort to address climate change, but the work is done by a unit of the for-profit corporation, Google.org, and Google investors will profit from any breakthroughs.
Google's investment has been modest, so far. The company has put less than $50 million into clean energy start-ups, while the efforts of Weihl's group are probably about $10 million or $20 million.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Is Open Source Really Open?
Open source software in the traditional sense means software whose source code is freely available and modifiable. (Yes, we know there are versions of software that are only pseudo open source where the source is available, but not for free. Or the source code is available, but not modifiable, etc). In our opinion, most businesses should not, and will not, care if a software is open source. Even if they have control over the source code, they might not have the technical capability to solve a particular problem or implement a particular feature.
So, there will be certain software that will work 'out of the box' with the features you would want, while others like ERP, CRM or BI systems need to be highly customised as per the nature of business. However, you can hire talent to modify an open source software as per your requirements. For example, if you are using a popular PHP application, the source code is available and can be freely modified by in-house talent at a reasonable cost. This would entirely depend on the type of application and the expertise available including its price.
Understand your business requirements
The very first step that any business needs to figure out is what they plan to achieve by implementing a particular open-source solution. Ask yourself, "How will I make my work cheaper/faster/easier using this tool? What business objective will this tool facilitate?" For, every IT solution entails direct and indirect costs. For example, before you deploy any ERP, CRM or BI solution or migrate your existing solution, you should have clear and quantifiable objectives that should be met. Will this CRM software help me better understand and, in turn, serve my customers? Will this ERP solution help me reduce inventories? Will it facilitate better warehouse management? Will the BI solution help me gain more insights about my products and services that I don't already know? Is it worth the time, effort and price?
How do I facilitate the implementation?
If you have identified a unified communication solution or a ERP, CRM or a BI solution, you should know what features you would require the most. Do you require features like collaboration? How much control is required? What is the level of security that you would expect? You should evaluate all offerings (open source or not/paid or free) based on the above set of requirements. Next you must hunt for all possible offerings so that you can compare multiple solutions and their pros and cons.
Open source DOES NOT always mean free
It is a common misconception that open source software is free. While many software follow that norm, it is not a rule. You might have to spend on certain open source software. Also, there are training and support costs associated with open source software as well.
While it might not be very difficult to learn a shiny new open source browser, you cannot say the same about a content management or a ERP/CRM system. For example, for a particular open source software that is not popular, the availability of support will be lower and support costs will be higher as a general rule. Also, open-source projects such as Firefox, Thunderbird, Apache, etc are well-established. Using a well-established software ensures long-term support for the software in terms of features, bugs and security patches. There are a lot of open source software that started with a bang and lost steam over a period of time. Also, commercial and non-open source software may be good in terms of providing better support as those companies are legally required to do so. Also, you can install a low cost/free open source solution and buy support from many commercial vendors.
Conclusion
Having considered the above-mentioned points, perform an in-depth research before deciding on which solution to adopt.
CXOtoday
So, there will be certain software that will work 'out of the box' with the features you would want, while others like ERP, CRM or BI systems need to be highly customised as per the nature of business. However, you can hire talent to modify an open source software as per your requirements. For example, if you are using a popular PHP application, the source code is available and can be freely modified by in-house talent at a reasonable cost. This would entirely depend on the type of application and the expertise available including its price.
Understand your business requirements
The very first step that any business needs to figure out is what they plan to achieve by implementing a particular open-source solution. Ask yourself, "How will I make my work cheaper/faster/easier using this tool? What business objective will this tool facilitate?" For, every IT solution entails direct and indirect costs. For example, before you deploy any ERP, CRM or BI solution or migrate your existing solution, you should have clear and quantifiable objectives that should be met. Will this CRM software help me better understand and, in turn, serve my customers? Will this ERP solution help me reduce inventories? Will it facilitate better warehouse management? Will the BI solution help me gain more insights about my products and services that I don't already know? Is it worth the time, effort and price?
How do I facilitate the implementation?
If you have identified a unified communication solution or a ERP, CRM or a BI solution, you should know what features you would require the most. Do you require features like collaboration? How much control is required? What is the level of security that you would expect? You should evaluate all offerings (open source or not/paid or free) based on the above set of requirements. Next you must hunt for all possible offerings so that you can compare multiple solutions and their pros and cons.
Open source DOES NOT always mean free
It is a common misconception that open source software is free. While many software follow that norm, it is not a rule. You might have to spend on certain open source software. Also, there are training and support costs associated with open source software as well.
While it might not be very difficult to learn a shiny new open source browser, you cannot say the same about a content management or a ERP/CRM system. For example, for a particular open source software that is not popular, the availability of support will be lower and support costs will be higher as a general rule. Also, open-source projects such as Firefox, Thunderbird, Apache, etc are well-established. Using a well-established software ensures long-term support for the software in terms of features, bugs and security patches. There are a lot of open source software that started with a bang and lost steam over a period of time. Also, commercial and non-open source software may be good in terms of providing better support as those companies are legally required to do so. Also, you can install a low cost/free open source solution and buy support from many commercial vendors.
Conclusion
Having considered the above-mentioned points, perform an in-depth research before deciding on which solution to adopt.
CXOtoday
Friday, January 23, 2009
Sun Microsystems begins laying off 6,000 across all ranks
Sun had earlier last year announced a series of changes designed to align its cost model with the global economy and accelerate the introduction of compelling open source innovations. As part of that effort Sun announced a global workforce reduction of approximately 5,000 to 6,000 employees, representing approximately 15% to 18% of the Company’s global workforce. Sun can confirm that today layoff notifications were given to approximately 1,300 employees as part of that action. Reductions were made across all levels, including vice presidents and directors.
Sun continues to make choices to align strategically, geographically and operationally with its plan for long term growth. We believe the restructuring will result in a more efficient coverage model with resources aligned to growth opportunities. We believe the number of positions that will be eliminated, when combined with the other cost cutting measures and organizational changes being implemented, will put the Company on track for improved financial performance.
Last November, Sun Microsystems said it would be laying off up to 6,000 employees — or around 18 percent of its workforce — after a weak first quarter performance. The cuts are happening today, we’re hearing from a well-placed source, ahead of the company’s second-quarter earnings report next Tuesday.
The server and software company is facing hard times as the market has shifted from closed-source to open-source software technologies, like Linux, and it is facing stiff competition from larger rivals like IBM and HP. To boot, a significant portion of the company’s business is in the financial sector — clients that aren’t in a position to make large purchases these days. Sun has been experimenting with software-as-a-service and other models to help it gain market share, and most prominently purchased open-source database company for MySQL for $1 billion last year. Here’s some more from the strategy announcement it released in November:
As part of this effort, Sun is announcing a global workforce reduction and alignment of its Software organization into new business groups - Application Platform Software, Systems Platforms, and Cloud Computing & Developer Platforms - with a focus on boosting open source momentum and growing new sectors of the market who view technology as a competitive weapon.
Agencies
Sun continues to make choices to align strategically, geographically and operationally with its plan for long term growth. We believe the restructuring will result in a more efficient coverage model with resources aligned to growth opportunities. We believe the number of positions that will be eliminated, when combined with the other cost cutting measures and organizational changes being implemented, will put the Company on track for improved financial performance.
Last November, Sun Microsystems said it would be laying off up to 6,000 employees — or around 18 percent of its workforce — after a weak first quarter performance. The cuts are happening today, we’re hearing from a well-placed source, ahead of the company’s second-quarter earnings report next Tuesday.
The server and software company is facing hard times as the market has shifted from closed-source to open-source software technologies, like Linux, and it is facing stiff competition from larger rivals like IBM and HP. To boot, a significant portion of the company’s business is in the financial sector — clients that aren’t in a position to make large purchases these days. Sun has been experimenting with software-as-a-service and other models to help it gain market share, and most prominently purchased open-source database company for MySQL for $1 billion last year. Here’s some more from the strategy announcement it released in November:
As part of this effort, Sun is announcing a global workforce reduction and alignment of its Software organization into new business groups - Application Platform Software, Systems Platforms, and Cloud Computing & Developer Platforms - with a focus on boosting open source momentum and growing new sectors of the market who view technology as a competitive weapon.
Agencies
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