[Ocaml-biz] The strategic future of OCaml for 2..4 years

[Olivier Grisel]

Brandon J. Van Every a écrit :
> Brian Hurt wrote:
> 
>>Yep.  And there is a hell of a lot of business depending upon
>>and using
>>open source.  Microsoft doesn't have a lock on business software.
> 
> 
> It can be open source, or 'big iron' proprietary UNIX business models,
> or whatever, but let's talk about *business* models.  The OCaml
> community currently has a culture tending towards the academic.
> Uncoincidentally, many of those academics are UNIXen and world views
> converge.

I really do believe that companies that base their services on 
OSSoftware need *business* models, not open source projects them-selves.
The OCaml community as a whole has no point in making money. Some 
companies or individuals which are members of this community are doing 
business. Thus you can't ask volunteers that don't care about your 
business to take care of your marketing. But what you can do is to offer 
them a framework (branding, tools, ...) to help them reach a higher 
audience (among both businessmen and non-businessmen).

> But Microsoft has, to date, beaten everyone else with proprietary
> monopoly power.  It doesn't have to stay that way, and they're starting
> to show strains, but they're still doing ok at it.  So you can't assume
> that issuing commands and dictums is an invalid strategy.  Open Source
> is a contender, not a champion.

Wait and see ... ;o)


cheers,

--
Olivier
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