Steven L. Grandchamp

Programmers naturally gravitate toward the best software packages and components for development. They are increasingly choosing a broad range of enterprise-grade open source packages from Apache and Tomcat to Axis and Eclipse. But imagine for a moment this all-too-common scenario: a programmer at a Global 2000 is faced with a looming deadline and after a little bit of research, picks an open source package that he thinks will meet his technical needs and enable him to get his job done more quickly and effectively. Although the open source package may have all of the functionality needed, the programmer doesn't take into account some of the broader, longer-term issues that can have a significant impact on the enterprise, such as: How will we get support for this package ... (more)

Guest Editorial — Is the Red Hat-JBoss Deal Good for Everyone?

Red Hat's announcement last month that it was buying JBoss has been the hot topic for almost anyone involved with Open Source. It's too early to tell exactly what the ultimate outcome will be. However, we can begin to speculate on what it means for end users as well as the Open Source community and the ecosystem. Having completed several acquisitions in my career, there are a few factors ... (more)