__/ [ Mark Kent ] on Sunday 02 April 2006 15:20 \__
> begin oe_protect.scr
> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>> Reality IT: Quelling The Boss' Open-Source Fears
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>| The ACME VP of operations, Huge Bange, returned from a conference where
>>| one of the sessions was on the dangers of open-source software. Huge
>>| asked our CIO, Steve Fox, if we use open source in our network. Steve
>>| assured Huge that we use very little or none (translation: he didn't
>>| know).
>> `----
>>
>>
http://www.networkcomputing.com/channels/networkinfrastructure/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=12AZ1HHFDT3OGQSNDBOCKH0CJUMEKJVN?articleID=181501280
>
> What is truly terrifying is that senior IT people don't know anything
> about open source. Makes one wonder how they came to be in post at all,
> certainly, it can't have been through technical competence, nor keeping
> up with industry trends, nor can it have been through security concerns,
> nor through ensuring best-value for licensing and support costs.
>
> So what was it?
I don't have much to add to Gordon's remark or to your own opinion, but I
very strongly agree with both statements. People at management level know
*jack* about OSS, so conversations will steer away from such discussions
when ignorance begins to be sensed. People prefer not to discuss or explore
what they do not know well. They live in the past out of choice.
__/ [ Gordon ] added on Sunday 02 April 2006 15:39 \__
> Mainly because up until recently non-IT management were scared of IT
> people! The number of places where I've tried to convince management that
> the IT dept is there to serve the company, not the other way around!
> Example - the Group Finance function of which I was a member decided that
> WE wanted Hyperion to put on top of J D Edwards - so we bought it. The IT
> dept threw a tantrum because "they" hadn't either been involved or tested
> it (isn't Hyperion an Industry standard?) so it never got installed. This
> was 7 years ago, and AFAIK the CD is still sitting on a shelf!
You know, sometimes the barriers are broken when people retire and the
younger generation takes over (by all means, this is not directed at you). I
believe that GNU/Linux/OSS at academic institutes and schools can instill
the values of Open Source in people's minds early on. We don't need billions
of OSS supporters. All you need are thousands of tenacious developers and
people who are heading towards IT with clear understanding of OSS and
managers that will be served TCO studies from technical professionals, not
business professionals and brochures.
Best wishes,
Roy
--
Roy S. Schestowitz | Windows O/S: who ownZ you tod4y?
http://Schestowitz.com | SuSE Linux ¦ PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
9:35pm up 25 days 11:18, 10 users, load average: 0.09, 0.69, 0.89
http://iuron.com - Open Source knowledge engine project
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