Microsoft turns to Open Source to Counter Google?

I have a special interest in all Microsoft’s open source developments. My opinion is that Microsoft’s historical and cultural background isn’t well suited for open source business. Nevertheless, the software giant has made a lot of progress since the day that CEO Ballmer has labeled open source evangelists as being ‘communists’. Today, Microsoft has announced the creation of CodePlex Foundation, ‘a non-profit organization with the mission of enabling the exchange of code’.

Before I get start, I would like to say that Microsoft’s involvement in the open source sphere is going to be beneficial for the community and the whole software industry. Monopolies are bad for consumers, suppliers, professionals and technological progress. But why is Microsoft, the company that owns 90% of the OS market has to feel like giving away free code? That goes against the principle of price discrimination, which is a common practice by monopolists.

Well, maybe Ballmer doesn’t feel like he owns 90% of OS market share anymore. And I have to agree with him. The emergence of smart phones as a vertical market somehow independent of Windows OS (ex: iPhone, Blackberry), is rushing the industry towards the lightweight-browser-based operating system. And who’s the biggest player in this field? Google, with tons of Internet-based services and a brand new super anticipated Chrome OS. In this regard, the adoption rate of the Chrome OS might be even more spectacular than that of the Firefox browser. Windows and Office being such cash cows for Microsoft, I would bet everything to reorganize the company if I was management.

One thing most analysts would give to Microsoft is its ability to go through as many transformations as needed by a changing environment. I think we have to have respect for the big giant that is able to go from ‘Open Source is Communism’ to ‘We donate money to Open Source’ in only a few short years. I hope this new initiative will bring competition and exciting new stuff to the software industry.