Business and enterprise software, and other applications that help a business run

We are all aware that Microsoft has been in trouble for years because of its anti-competitive, proprietary business mantra. These practices may well be starting to bring them more problems than benefits. There are some signs within the company that a few senior people are beginning to “get” both the problems and solutions. One such Microsoft leader is Sam Ramji.

Ramji is a director at Microsoft’s Open Source Software Lab. If you read his blog (1), you can see that he is attuned to the realities of the software business in the 21st century. As a part of this blog entry, Ramji says, “Overall, we’ve learned and continue to learn from open source development principles.  These are making their way into the mindset, development practices, and ultimately into the products we bring to market.”

That is quite a statement from a Microsoft employee. Of you read the full blog entry, you will see that Microsoft, or at least the Windows Server team, has been learning from the concepts of open source over the years. The proof is in the way systems such as Windows servers are being designed and constructed. Some of the Open Source concepts that were made a part of Windows Server 2008 include:

Modular archictectures
Programming language agnostic
Feedback-driven development
Built-for-purpose systems
Sysadmins who write code
Standards-based communication

None of this means that Microsoft will be going the Open Source route in the immediate future. However, it is apparent that there are people in senior positions in Redmond that understand and are sympathetic to the Open Source revolution. As these people continue to rise in importance within the company, they will have more and more influence on the strategic direction of the company.

Ironically, it may be people from the Open Source movement rather than anti-trust decisions in courts of law that finally change the business model at Microsoft.