Framework is niche.
iPhones do have the pedigree.
Google Fiber is barely used.
Most folks do use a supported Linux distribution, they don’t roll their own.
Not in 2007-2008 which is equivalent to Oxide today.
Not to mention the comparison is inane to begin with. Using an iPhone for your enterprise and moving your tech infra to a relatively unknown company are not equivalent at all.
This just seems like a twist on hyper-converged infrastructure + open source.
I mean, I love their design. I just don’t think it’s special enough to warrant mass adoption. And I certainly wouldn’t be deploying at scale in an enterprise environment with zero widespread adoption.
Small entities will just use cloud same as always. Large companies have a multitude of unique needs that won’t all be catered for by a single box. The big vendors will clean up on that front as usual.
"Niche" is not a dirty word. Framework is niche, but if they can make their cost structure work (which I have no idea whether or not they can), that's ok. New products don't need to dominate their market in order to be succesful.
(But I do agree that Google Fiber is a bad example / a good example of a new product in an established market not working.)
- Why would anyone buy the Framework laptop, they don't have nearly the support/pedigree that Dell, HP, etc. has?
- Why would anyone use iPhones in the enterprise/IT world, they don't have nearly the support/pedigree that Blackberry, Microsoft, etc. has?
- Why would anyone use Google Fiber, they don't have nearly the network or support that AT&T, Spectrum, etc. has?
- Why would anyone ever use Linux (in enterprise, let's say), compared to the support and adoption that Microsoft/Windows offers?
- ...
I'm purposely picking different examples with varying degrees of success or adoption. I am not claiming that Oxide will be an instant category-dominating success. I don't think Oxide expects to replace HP/Cisco/Dell/etc. overnight, and I don't think a business has to launch with that ambition from the start, to prove that it's worth launching.
But this take is so repetitive as to be bordering on cliche -- I don't know if you're self-aware enough to realize, you are literally just a living embodiment of the "Innovator's Dilemma" right now...