Intelligent Enterprise: The Anything-But-Microsoft Market

“So with Microsoft positioned as the next big competitor and
freeing up IT spending positioned as the worthiest of goals, it
shouldn’t be too surprising that enterprise software vendors are
quietly pursuing Linux, open source, and other Microsoft
alternatives, even as they continue to pledge fealty to the .Net
deity. A number of these erstwhile competitors are realizing that
getting customers to adopt non-Microsoft server, database, and,
especially, desktop software could be the best way to free up the
money customers need to buy their new killer apps. And getting
customers dependent on non-Microsoft technology could also help
competitors offset the advantages that Microsoft will undoubtedly
have as its applications, server, desktop, and other software
assets become increasingly intertwined and interdependent. In other
words, the more ubiquitous anything-but-Microsoft technology can be
in the enterprise, the more successful MBS’s enterprise
applications competitors will be.

“The battleground for the anything-but-Microsoft option spans
the entire technology stack–and doesn’t necessarily require a
Linux solution. SAP’s announcement in November 2003 that it was
cutting a deal with Sybase to make that company’s database
available for SAP’s mid-market Business One application is
emblematic of this fight. Absent an offering like Sybase, most
Business One customers would probably pick up Microsoft’s database
offering. Instead, the new partnership helps keep the MBS
technology advantage to the minimum…”

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