The confluence of two major movements in the software industry - service-oriented architecture and open source software - is promising to cause a fundamental change in how vendors make money on technology, and how customers spend money on technology. The traditional money trail, where customers shell out big upfront costs for software licenses, followed by yearly maintenance and support fees, may have come to a fork in the road.
The very nature of most SOA implementations, which start small and build incrementally, may be incompatible with the traditional licensing model. And the very nature of open source software, which enables an organization to start a project with no money down, removes the financial barrier to entry. It also delivers on SOA's basic promise of agility—the community controls the code, so there is no vendor lock-in.
While the tea leaves are still coming into focus, software vendors have hedged their bets by throwing their weight, and expertise, behind open source projects. They are also ramping up SOA services and consulting practices, where the bulk of the future money may be made. For organizations building out their SOA infrastructure, following the money trail in this multi-part special report could portend what their future IT model will look like.
Special Report: How much is that SOA in the window?, part 1
The confluence of two major movements in the software industry is promising to cause a change in how vendors make money on technology, and how customers spend money on technology.
Read part one.
Special Report: How much is that SOA in the window?, part 2
Vendors are experimenting with different licensing models to better fit the SOA world, but IT budgets likely won't reap a "peace dividend" says one industry expert.
Read part two.
Special Report: How much is that SOA in the window?, part 3
With the advent of service-oriented architecture, the ability to orchestrate software may supplant the value of the software itself, opening up a massive consulting opportunity into which vendors are plunging.
Read part three.
