Filipino entrepreneur to startups: Learn from open source

By Erwin Oliva - INQUIRER.net

A Filipino entrepreneur who sold his software startup to IBM urged local software startups not to ignore the open source movement. Instead, they should start embracing the community's practice of developing software.

Open source software has allowed smaller companies today to challenge behemoths like Oracle, Microsoft, SAP, Sybase, Bea and even IBM, said Winston Damarillo, entrepreneur-turned-venture-capitalist and founder of several companies including GlueCode Software, Simula Labs, Exist Global and LogicBlaze.

Stressing that open source is not about cheaper or free software, Damarillo said the open source model has increasingly challenged bigger companies because they're backed by a community willing to collaborate and share information.

Citing his experience with GlueCode Software, the executive said his startup got sold to IBM because it took advantage of the disruptive nature of the open source software.

GlueCode is an open source Java outfit that IBM bought for an undisclosed amount. Earlier reports indicated that the computer giant bought GlueCode Software because it offered a low-end, open source alternative to its own WebSphere software suite.

Speaking before an audience of software professionals in a forum organized by Ayala Technology Business Incubator and the Brain Gain Network in Manila, Damarillo said the open source movement is now creating more micro-multinationals or mini-independent software vendors that cater to niche software markets.

"You're seeing more IP creations [software] that are not centered on one creative genius but on a global community, he said. "Open source is not about cheap software but about access to software innovation."

He said that it took GlueCode 11 months to get the attention of IBM.

Open source has somehow paved the way for the "redistribution of wealth" in the software industry, he said.

Gone are the days when software products are dictated by giant vendors, he added. And thanks to the Internet, distribution, marketing and development of software have become less of a challenge for a software startup.

"Open source has become an engine for collaboration and research and development," he added.

"Open source usually starts with a great idea that you wish to share to the world," Damarillo said, rejecting the idea of software patents. "Open source is a phenomenon that has changed the mechanics of global software engineering."

The software industry in general is headed toward an open source model, which is best exemplified by Google.

Google, he stressed, believes in the mantra that software development is about "making [software] easy to use first; revenues later."