I'm shocked. Check this out:
Twelve per cent [of those companies surveyed] said they focussed “exclusively” on .Net development while an additional 49 per cent focussed “primarily” on .Net. Only three per cent of enterprises were exclusively Java shops, while an additional 20 per cent focussed “primarily” on Java.
...
But as more companies adopt Microsoft Exchange as their messaging software and SQL Server as their database, the decision to use .Net develop tools is “almost a no-brainer,” Goodall said. (source).
This seems counterintuitive to me. Sure, there's entrenchment. Sure, there's comfort in using Microsoft products as for most people that's who provides their operating system, office tools, and mail software. But c'mon, which companies did they survey? I'd love to find out but I can't find a copy of their survey results online, and even if I could I'm not about to cough up $150 - $990 for a 200K PDF file. Begs the question -- who commissioned this report, and how deep are their pockets? IMHO, there's a fine line between market research and marketing.
Or... is it possible that OSS people just don't have time to answer surveys because they're too busy contributing to their community? ;-)
Pointed pontifications aside, perhaps the real point here is that Microsoft does a better job at selling the 'one stop shop' idea of operating system + office tools + database + mail tools + mail server + dev platform. Sure, all of that is also available in the FLOSS / LAMP world, but are we failing to market it it as a cohesive offering? Is it still too disparate, too complex?
And has anyone thought of building an ubuntu + Ganymede self-contained offering? I know there's some cool virtual appliances out there, such as Grandma's LAMP, but AFAIK there's never been an attempt to bundle Eclipse w/ an OS for an all-in-one offering. Now that there's an Eclipse Store and an Eclipse Donations site, isn't it time for some Eclipse DVDs to complete the trifecta? Along with the new EPP bundles planned for next July, wouldn't it be cool to have an Eclipse Ganymede + ubuntu 08.04 Distro DVD? A collector's item, for sure.
Oh, and with the advent of the EMF4Net proposal (yes, that's EMF for the .Net plaftorm), this all-in-one DVD would also allow people to develop C# apps as well as Java. And php. And perl. And ruby. And python. And C/C++. Whoops, there we go again with too many choices. ;-) Once again, maybe Microsoft continues to dominate mindshare not because they're better or more entrenched, but out of a sense of simplicity.
So, here's my new mantra:
Simple is sexy.
Options are overwhelming.
Agree? Disagree? Post your thoughts here, or blog them and/or link here. I'd love to know your experiences as a customer or as a vendor, as a client or as a developer.
