“In several thinly-veiled references to Microsoft during his
keynote address at Telecom 99 here, Gerstner warned against efforts
to dominate the Internet with proprietary technology and urged
telecommunications companies and computer companies to work
together to hasten the Internet “revolution” that promises “a
fundamental transformation in the way that things are being done in
the world.”
“Going forward we have a great opportunity to bring forward the
best of the telecommunications industry and the best of the
computer industry, and we also have an opportunity to ensure that
we don’t drag the worst of our industries into this new world,”
Gerstner told the gathering. “Now the worst of my industry — the
element that we must leave behind — is the mentality that seeks to
own and dominate standards, and to establish a choke hold based on
proprietary technology…”
“The good news is that movements like Java and Linux are
powerful reminders that those who bet on proprietary standards are
not going to win in a heterogeneous, open, networked society,”
he added. “And any customer or nation who gets trapped by a closed
architecture runs the very real risk of being left behind.”