Is Microsoft getting nervous because Brazil has just published their Free Software Migration Guide?


Here's an article from Reuters


Comentario en español

"Microsoft se pronuncia en contra de la decisión del presidente Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, de dar luz verde a la adopción de Linux en la base instalada de computadoras del sector público de su país, lo cual desde la perspectiva de Microsoft, es una decisión errónea, pues de acuerdo con Emilio Umeoka, director de Microsoft Brasil, el gigante del software considera al mercado brasileño como uno de los más prometedores; genera 45,000 empleos indirectos, que reportan al erario público ingresos de alrededor de 317 millones de dólares anuales, por concepto de impuestos."

From the Reuters article:

"If the country closes itself off again -- as it did when it protected its information technology, 10 years from now we will wake up and be dominant in something insignificant," Umeoka told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

It's interesting that Umeoka uses the word "closes" in the context of software here. With everything happening in the field of Open Source software, I can't imagine how adopting FOSS can be characterized as "closing itself off".

"My boss once said: 'Irrelevance is the beginning of the end'," [Emilio Umeoka] the Brazilian executive of Seattle-based Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O said.

That's probably fair enough, but just as probably is more applicable to Microsoft rather than the country of Brazil.

"I know this is not the best way to create a base of development from which to export because there's no revenue from something free."

We just have to hope that Mr. Umeoka eventually has a look at what IBM and H-P are doing, because they are definitely generating revenue "from something free".

Meanwhile, some people with a lot of money don't agree.

Price's open-source thesis says that ongoing corporate moves to use low-cost open-source products for running large server computers and back office systems will accelerate, transforming the enterprise software market. Companies that sell it packaged with hardware, additional software and services will be the winners, and the Microsofts and Oracles of the world will lose out. Open-source programs are developed by programmers who freely share the changes and improvements, so have no single owner.

"There's going to be a wealth transfer from the software companies to the users," he says. "Users will get open-source solutions for a lower cost, and the companies that will benefit will manage and package them effectively."