Upside: Linux’s Consolidation Wave

“Less than six months out of the Wall Street gate, the sector is
already undergoing its first consolidation wave. Like pet owners
watching a baby boa constrictor devour its first mouse, open-source
proponents witnessing the latest Corel-Inprise, VA Linux-Andover,
Red Hat-Cygnus feeding frenzy don’t know whether to shed tears of
pride or start sleeping with the lights on.”

“Whatever they decide to do, they can take comfort in one fact.
The observed behavior is perfectly natural behavior, even for young
companies bred to rebel against the traditional “you will be
assimilated” Microsoft corporate message….”

“The one thing we know about mergers is that they come in
waves,” Sirower says. “By definition, companies that hadn’t
been doing deals a few years ago are suddenly doing them. That
means you’ve got new players involved with the economics of
acquisition, opening up more opportunities for mistakes.”

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