Can Microsoft be a Leading Open source Player?

It has been a while since Microsoft is hinting about its intentions to move towards the open source movement. It all started with hiring charismatic IT gurus, then followed by the open specification initiative and the release of some open source projects. But what was most surprising for me was the release of driver code for Linux OS. Who would have thought that Microsoft would one day go as far as releasing code for Linux, the anti-thesis of proprietary operating system?

Lets suppose for a moment that Microsoft has real intentions in becoming a player in the open source scene. Does this company have all it take to be a leader in the community?

Microsoft drives most of its revenue from selling two major products: Windows and Office. If these products become open source, but with a price tag, tons of reliable and compatible (two things missing with current alternative solutions) Windows clones and all kinds of Windows emulators will show up on the market. The natural effect of this competition will be to decrease profit margin. This will eventually lead in downsizing of Microsoft’s staff unless it switch its business model into support services. The idea would be to use the core competence of the company (knowledge of Windows platform) to offer support services as the main source of income. Nevertheless, other players will be able to show up and compete with Microsoft on the same level, except that they will not have access to some valuable resources (key people) available to the giant.

Besides key players, there is one part where Microsoft would trail behind its open source rivals: geek culture. Indeed, geek culture is the main factor behind open source movements. Without those geeks willing to sit down behind a PC and code all day long, this discussion wouldn’t have even occurred in the first place. In contrast, Microsoft is well known for its formal corporate culture and hierarchical complexity.

I believe that this factor will be decisive in the battle for the open source environment. Managers at Microsoft are fully aware of this fact, so this move towards open source is more a way of fighting against the biggest threat to Microsoft’s dominance: Google.