New report on supplier perceptions available

We have just published a report on supplier perceptions based on an online survey of readers of The Register.

Some interesting findings, my favourite being that if you are in IT management, you are three times more likely to rate IBM positively than if you are in IT operations or support. Similar picture with Microsoft. Are the senior guys perceiving some strategic advantage that the others are missing or is it more a function of the amount of money some big vendors spend on marketing to executives?

Lots of other stuff in there, including an analysis of the drivers of positive and negative supplier perceptions, so read and enjoy.

The "Safety" of Open Source Software

I have read a couple of things recently that seem to be suggesting that there is still a question mark over the suitability of Open Source solutions for normal mainstream businesses. Something I have noticed, though, is that critics are often ambiguous about what exactly their comments and concerns relate to.

One of the biggest problems is confusion between the Open Source approach and specific Open Source offerings. Discussions sometimes start out talking about Open Source generically then lapse into something specific like Desktop Linux, implying that issues with that particular solution have somehow resulted from its Open Source status, which is generally nonsense.

This prompted me to collect and document my own thoughts on how Open Source is moving into the mainstream and you can read the resulting article on here.

The bottom line in my view is that the origin of a piece of software, i.e. whether it was developed commercially or via the Open Source route, is largely an irrelevancy provided you do your homework on whether it is fit for purpose and someone you trust will provide you with a support and maintenance contract for it.

I am neither for nor against Open Source software, but I do believe it is important to be clear and precise when discussing its pros and cons.

Bios on site

Following a couple of recent requests from Analyst Relations guys, full biographies of the research team are now available here on the Freeform Dynamics website .

Conversion to Team Blog

Just converted this blog to a team forum, so you will see postings from both Helen and I from this point onwards and others as we grow the team. Our advisor on blog etiquette approved this approach provided posters were clearly identified (thanks David) :-)