New wave challenging the Big 4
There does seem to be a lot of heat in whether or not the new wave open source systems management players are going to take on the Big 4 (IBM, CA, BMC & HP). You can get more info here and here. The 451 Group report is here.
If the new wave do end up undercutting the Big 4, won’t the Big 4 just buy the new wave companies?
The new wave are venture funded…venture capitalist want to cash out at some point. All VC funded companies are up for sale to some degree. So, when the Big 4 come a shoppin’ they’ll get what they want.
If I were a betting man, I’d be happy to bet that the Big 4 weighed pretty heavily in the new wave business plans. They are the ones with the money, they have the market and they are well used to VC backed companies.
If the new wave, as open source companies, conjure images of hippies doin’ it for the freedom man, then I think that you are a bit out of date. Open source has come a long way since MIT in the 1970s.
The new wave aren’t a challenge to the Big 4 per se, they are a challenge to how open the Big 4 become. If the new wave are successful, the Big 4 buy the open source companies and become more open in the process. If the new wave are not successful, then the status quo prevails.
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Jack Hughes's wry observations of the tech industry from the bottom looking up. 
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The “us vs. them” mentality (Big 4 Vs. Little 4) being stirred up in response to “Managing In The Open” is leading us in the opposite direction from where we need to go. Only by working together will the system management tools improve for the one person that matters in this picture; the customer.
I’ve posted a longer reply here: http://talk.bmc.com/blogs/blog-whurley/whurley/re-managing-in-the-open
Best,
Quote | Posted August 3, 2007, 3:05 pmwhurley
Thanks whurley for taking the time to post.
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. The crucial thing is for companies to listen to their customers. The source being open is just one part of that, but by no means the largest part.
Quote | Posted August 3, 2007, 3:32 pm