I came across this great schematic while looking for graphics for an upcoming presentation at COSS.fi in Helsinki: It's very clever, and generally well done. But I think it overlooks more than half the threats to open source by fixating on Microsoft. Microsoft is just one proprietary ecosystem (very successful, but it's still just one). Oracle has been building a robust ecosystem of its own. SAP and IBM, the sam I came across this great schematic while looking for graphics for an upcoming presentation at COSS.fi in Helsinki:It’s very clever, and generally well done. But I think it overlooks more than half the threats to open source by fixating on Microsoft. Microsoft is just one proprietary ecosystem (very successful, but it’s still just one). Oracle has been building a robust ecosystem of its own. SAP and IBM, the same.The premise is that you can buy into such an ecosystem and never need to leave. I suspect that part of the impetus behind this is customer demand, but customers may not want the consequences of what they (apparently) want. There is a rising ecosystem: the open source ecosystem. There is no single vendor controlling it. There is no single set of pieces that you must use to derive value from the ecosystem. You take the best of breed and hook them together through open standards.For those interested in competing with open source, it’s time to realize that Microsoft is no longer the Omnipotent Bogeyman it was once considered to be. It has been replaced by several ecosystems/hegemons. In short, it’s a multipolar world, not a unipolar world anymore. And open source offers one of the strongest “poles” to build around.No wonder there has been so much Realpolitik of late. Open source is being taken seriously. Very seriously. The big vendors wouldn’t bother with kicking a weakling. They’re very bothered about kicking an equal, determined to not let it become their superior. Bonne chance. Open Source