Microsoft has spent 20 years developing the Office suite to create a comprehensive and feature-rich product as we know it today. Most analysts believe that open-source software suites like OpenOffice pose a significant threat to the “giant” Microsoft. However, these open-source suites lack the appealing features and simplicity of Microsoft’s “proud” Office suite.
In reality, Microsoft continues to widen the gap between its “renowned” Office suite and other free software. An intriguing question for the open-source community is how to catch up with “the wealthy giant” Microsoft? Bill Gates and his talented developers have focused their efforts for the past 20 years to create the best products. Meanwhile, open-source products like OpenOffice are merely a collection of volunteer programmers driven by their passion and enthusiasm. Because both software suites do not follow the same development process, comparisons between them are challenging. However, the open-source community does offer some insights.
Jacqueline McNally, the marketing project leader for OpenOffice.org, remarked: “These volunteer programmers are not under any pressure regarding work or time. Therefore, open-source products tend to have fewer bugs. Another reason is that we are not working for money. The work is genuinely interesting and engaging, and the product is the result of thousands of programmers worldwide contributing millions of programming hours to create a quality product.”
Intense Competition
While there are numerous analyses evaluating both sides, many analysts agree that open-source software is becoming increasingly robust and poses a significant threat to this “giant” in Redmond. The advantages of open file formats have made OpenOffice, KDE, Gnome, and other alternative products to Microsoft software more appealing.
However, some opinions suggest that open-source products have their weaknesses. According to Michael Goulde, a software analyst at Forrester Research, about OpenOffice: “The code in OpenOffice 1.0 is messy and very hard to read. However, the OpenOffice 2.0 version is much better.”
So, which open-source software can replace Microsoft products? This question has been posed to several senior managers at Microsoft, but they have avoided answering it.
An active member of the KDE organization (KDE is the most popular graphical environment for the Linux operating system) stated: “I cannot speak for Microsoft, but I think the KDE project is just a small part of the KDE platform. I believe the KDE market will expand further, not just within the Linux environment.” He believes that the greatest appeal of the open-source model is: “Most users of open-source products are either programmers or experienced users. They will become developers in open-source projects, and their contributions to these products are significant.”
Another attractive feature of the open-source model is its responsiveness to the market. In contrast, Microsoft’s closed-source software is somewhat limited in this regard. The open-source community, as well as projects like OpenOffice, can quickly adapt and evolve to meet market demands faster than closed-source products. In international projects, volunteer programmers and end-users have the opportunity to participate and contribute their ideas to the project. The contributions of all these volunteers are invaluable resources.
Pressure from the Open-Source Community
Has the open-source community significantly influenced monopolistic companies like Microsoft and the development trends of their products? Some observers believe this is true. What drives this open-source model since the software is free? In fact, free open-source software has significantly impacted companies involved in its development. They cannot profit from the products they create, but they do earn revenue from the services that open-source software provides.
There is immense pressure on monopolistic companies. A prime example is that Microsoft quickly decided to release a new version of Internet Explorer instead of waiting to launch it with Windows Vista. One of the reasons for this change was the overwhelming success of the open-source browser Firefox (Firefox features a tabbed graphical interface, allowing multiple pages to be viewed in a single window, and many performance improvements for users.) Firefox has become a significant competitor in the browser market, threatening Internet Explorer’s number one position.
Another example is the Gnome desktop environment, which exemplifies innovation in programming. Desktop environments like Gnome and KDE provide excellent support for multilingual programming, integrating multiple languages, and increasingly attractive interface changes, ensuring high-quality software… all of which has created substantial pressure on companies like Microsoft to innovate their products.
The Rise of Microsoft
To counter open-source software, Microsoft has turned its proprietary technologies into potential barriers to information access. The company plans to release a new version of Office that can “crush” OpenOffice, with support for open document formats (OpenDocument Format). Adobe, KOffice, Apache, Sun, and several other software companies also support the OpenDocument Format.
The competitive market has driven Microsoft to release free XML-supporting software, as well as free services like Windows Live and Office Live… One of the shortcomings of OpenOffice is its support for the disabled. Meanwhile, Microsoft Office provides excellent support. A Microsoft expert noted: “Disabled employees will still use Microsoft Office, and the cost of maintaining this software suite is always lower.”
Microsoft’s response suggests that OpenOffice is actually more expensive than its products. The higher costs associated with open-source software stem from the need to purchase additional tools and utilities from other vendors, the time required for product maintenance, the higher training costs for technical staff, and the expenses incurred in installing security management tools compared to Microsoft products.
One of the perceived weaknesses of open-source applications, according to Microsoft, is the software repair capabilities. Microsoft states: Linux takes over 30% longer to fix security vulnerabilities compared to Windows. Moreover, documentation for open-source applications is less comprehensive, and technical support cannot compare to that provided by Microsoft. System administrators will have to spend more time managing compared to Windows.
Factors Leading to Success
Open-source software will continue to expand, adding more appealing features similar to those in competing paid products. One of the factors contributing to the success of open-source software is the ease of information access, lower costs, and independence from a single vendor.
Despite achieving significant milestones in every aspect, open-source software is still far from dominating the software market. Although open-source is free, there are still user requirements such as documentation, product support, and longevity… which pose challenges for open-source software. To address these issues, many companies have created two versions of open-source software: one completely free and one paid version that offers more features and better technical support.
Microsoft has also “dipped” its toes into the open-source market, and traditional open-source developers are profiting from selling services related to open-source products. Therefore, whether open-source software will emerge victorious remains a big question. However, the lines between open-source software and traditional software are increasingly blurring.
Minh Phúc
