'Too much of commercialization is going against Linux'

Microsoft has long been dismissive of the Linux factor. But no longer. The

Linux movement has paved its way into segments like government and education.

However, too much commercialization of the services-based model can spoil the

very essence of the values open source movement stands for, feels Microsoft

platform strategies manager Abhijit Das. He spoke to Zia Askari of CyberMedia

News about the way Linux is moving ahead and how Microsoft perceives the open

source movement.

How is Microsoft placing its bet towards a closed source code environment?



There are a lot of misconceptions about open source and applications

designed on top of that. Its biggest plus point (the freeness associated with

the movement) has now become its biggest drawback. All the major Linux

distributors are now charging hefty sums in the name of services, and revenue

models are being derived to stay put in business. Today, we are in a position

where Linux distributors like Red Hat and global service majors like IBM, Sun

and Oracle are eyeing for the same piece of the services pie. This is a bad

situation for a customer who is opting for open source software.

How do you see open source gaining momentum in the Indian region?

Even though there are some success stories for Linux in the Indian region,

all these wins are over traditional Unix systems. For instance, LIC had all its

systems on Unix-so moving towards Linux was an obvious decision. Similarly,

there are other examples where Linux has taken a lot of share from Unix-based

systems.

What is Microsoft's long-term strategy to counter open source

development?



Linux could have been developed as a threat to us if it would have retained

its original nature of providing free products. But this is not the case.

Moreover, it is not possible for the industry to give something free of cost;

that's why these services-based models are being developed around Linux. So we

don't have that much of a competition from Linux as of now. Microsoft is not

completely against open source development and we are developing some products

in the mobile and embedded product space with 'shared source code.'

In India, many sectors perceive Linux as a cheaper operating system. What

are your comments on this?



I don't think that Linux is a free operating system anymore. All the Linux

distributors are charging hefty sums with regards to servicing their customers.

As a result, there are no large deals happening for Linux in this region.

However, run-rate business for Linux is increasing.

Why do you think that services-based model is not viable in the long run?



There is no single point of gravity for Linux distributors or vendors

offering services around Linux. So we are soon going to have a situation where

global services majors like IBM will be vying for Linux-based services with

companies like Oracle or Sun. This type of situation is not good for the users.

They will feel confused or distracted. So, in the long run, this model is not

going to work smoothly, for sure. There is so much of commercialization of Linux

that it is going against the open source movement itself. Moving ahead, as the

market grows, I think that Linux will have its share of growth as well and it is

here to stay. Microsoft, on the other hand, will continue to grow with the

market at its own pace, so I don't think that we will have much of a

competition from Linux.