The problem is that very few companies are using ECM technology already. It’s a compelling opportunity, and it’s a totally green field.

Even if Alfresco could get together with its buddies to create a viable alternative, and even if that alternative were already in wide channel distribution, it would be the underdog against Microsoft’s marketing power.

That’s the problem. Until Microsoft entered the market ECM was going nowhere fast. Now it is going somewhere fast, but where it’s going is being determined by Microsoft.

This sort of thing will continue to happen until open source projects learn how to collaborate better, how to combine their efforts to solve big problems, and how to expand their channels. That will take time.

Until then Microsoft will retain its enormous market advantage.

I couldn't help but read this and get that "Not if we have something to say about it!" feeling. This is exactly what the OSA is about. This is exactly why 10 vendors got together to start the OSA eight months ago (and now we're up to 22, proving that we are on to some real issues that a critical mass of organizations want to help solve). We can, and must!, do a better job of working together to solve the big problems if open source solutions are to truly become mainstream. And by "big problems" we mean providing effective, low-cost and easy-to-deploy solutions to business problems. Rarely are these business problems isolated - They frequently require integration and coordination with other departments and business partners and, by extension, the software they are using, hence why our focus on interoperability.

And this isn't just talk. We are actually doing something about it.

Earlier this month, we unveiled our Common Customer View, which brought together seven commercial open source vendors across three continents to deliver an integrated view of customer data, along with distribution and supply chain management, business analytics and corporate financials... Definitely a "big problem".

Moreover, the CCV is being packaged and sold by Unisys, a global SI (and OSA member) with a substantial open source practice. One can argue whether this can combat Microsoft's marketing muscle, but they are a $5+ billion per year company with tremendous global reach and well respected in the enterprise. I'm willing to place bets in their favor.

And that's not all. The CCV is based on the fully open versions of all products, and the interoperability components are being open-sourced as well, under OSI licenses. (Stay tuned- the first of these is going on Sourceforge this week, and there will be more in coming months.)

And lastly, the CCV isn't the only such initiative we will work on. It was intended as proof of what is possible (and drive some customer adoption for participating vendors along the way). We can and will do more initiatives like it. We continue to run customer forums and other customer outreach activities, so we can hear directly from end-users what issues are important to them, and act accordingly.

So, in short, I like the chances of commercial open source against the evil empires of our industry. We've shown that it's possible to harness the innovative talents of multiple vendors, involve the developer community, work together to build an integrated offering that customers are telling us they want, and sell through a significant channel.

Finally, we would gladly do a similar initiative with Alfresco and/or other open source ECM's and demonstrate what we can do against Sharepoint. I look forward to them joining as OSA members, and then we can get this off the ground.