Re:Open Source Projects Receive Funding to Reclaim the Publi...
by jasode on Wednesday April 23, 2025 @07:55AM
(#43771058)
>, isn't that surely the problem? Putting all of your eggs in one basket may give you a nice vertically integrated system you can buy off-the-shelf with little effort, but then you're wholly dependent on that org for everything
The alternative of modular components with interoperable interfaces means more multiple vendors "finger pointing" at each other with the blame game instead of problems getting resolved. Yes, modular components can theoretically combine "best-of-breed" software ... but the extra complexity of interfaces integration is not worth the tradeoffs for many CIOs.
>Too much of the world depends on a few big orgs in the US with potentially different goals and values to their own.
It goes both ways. A lot of USA companies depend on a big German software company (SAP AG) for their global ERP system. This includes Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and most of Fortune 500 companies, etc. They all use SAP for consolidated accounting & finance. Google used to use Oracle (USA) but switched to SAP. SAP is an example of a "integrated system" instead of interfacing a bunch of disparate software silos from various vendors ("accounting software vendor", "demand forecasting software vendor", etc)
For many companies, the idea of having the proverbial "One Throat To Choke" is actually a feature not a bug. (https://www.google.com/search?q=%22one+throat+to+choke%22)
The alternative of modular components with interoperable interfaces means more multiple vendors "finger pointing" at each other with the blame game instead of problems getting resolved. Yes, modular components can theoretically combine "best-of-breed" software ... but the extra complexity of interfaces integration is not worth the tradeoffs for many CIOs.
>Too much of the world depends on a few big orgs in the US with potentially different goals and values to their own.
It goes both ways. A lot of USA companies depend on a big German software company (SAP AG) for their global ERP system. This includes Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and most of Fortune 500 companies, etc. They all use SAP for consolidated accounting & finance. Google used to use Oracle (USA) but switched to SAP. SAP is an example of a "integrated system" instead of interfacing a bunch of disparate software silos from various vendors ("accounting software vendor", "demand forecasting software vendor", etc)