Scott: "I knew this Java thing was a bad idea in the first place! I see only one solution. We need to buy this Lamp!"
Accountant: "Euh, LAMP is not a company. It's an acronym. It's Linux , Apache, MySQL and PHP"
Scott: "Then buy me Linux!"
Accountant: "But we still have this Solaris thing.."
Scott: "Then buy me Apache!"
Accountant: "That's a foundation. Nothing to buy there."
Scott: "Then buy me MySQL!"
Accountant: "We don't do databases."
Scott: "It's a database?"
Accountant: "What rock have you been living under?"
Scott: "Sweet. I can own the Lamp AND piss off Oracle at the same time!" (waves fake plastic magic wand) "Make it so!"
And so it happened.
Ten days later, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was reading the CIO Magazine, and read about this interesting thing called PHP, that according to the author you could use to write "WHAT?!". "WHAT?!", obviously a highly advanced and evolved version of "Hello World", caught his attention. So he called Bill Gates.
Steve: "Hey, you heard about this PHP thing?"
Bill: "Pee Age Pee? You're not that old yet, are you?"
Steve: "What? No, wait, it's a programming language, apparently better than ASP.NET."
Bill: "Who cares if it's better. I mean; we made the worst operating systems ever and still rule. (Checked out Leopard yet? It is SO cool.)"
Steve: "I don't know Bill... remember that internet thing that we didn't know about years ago? Kind of nearly missed the boat there."
Bill: "Right. Didn't we solve that in the same way? Worst browser, highest market share, that sort of thing?"
Steve: "Yes we did, but then we also didn't know about this 'mp3' thing until it was too late."
Bill: "We did manage to make Zune the worst player, but somehow we're not market leader. Guess we got sloppy?"
Steve: "Maybe it's just different times. Maybe we should have a different strategy."
Bill: "Ok, so let's just buy PHP then."
Steve: "It's not a company. But Encarta says it's written by a Rasmus Lerdorf."
Bill: "So let's hire him."
Steve: "Tried that. Didn't want to join. Can't blame him, works at Yahoo."
Bill: "Then I guess we'll have to buy Yahoo."
So it happened.
Two of the most controversial announcements of this month, and both appear to be part of devious plots to take over the LAMP stack. What's next? My prediction: Red-Hat buys Zend; Oracle buys Red-Hat; Sun and IBM join forces to buy Oracle, Microsoft buys Sun, kills IBM and peace is restored in the galaxy.
P.S. Can you imagine Microsoft running sites like Flickr? These guys invented MS Paint!
MySQL's open source database is the "M" in LAMP - the software platform comprised of Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP/Perl often viewed as the foundation of the Internet. Sun is committed to enhancing and optimizing the LAMP stack on GNU/Linux and Microsoft Windows along with OpenSolaris and MAC OS X. The database from MySQL, OpenSolaris and GlassFish, together with Sun's Java platform and NetBeans communities, will create a powerful Web application platform across a wide range of customers shifting their applications to the Web.Does this sound like a good sign for Sun's commitment to JavaDB/Derby?
More than 100 million copies of MySQL's high-performance open source database software have been downloaded and distributed and an additional 50,000 copies are downloaded daily. This broad penetration coupled with MySQL's strength in Web 2.0, Software as a Service (SaaS), enterprise, telecom and the OEM embedded market make it an important fit for Sun. With MySQL, Sun will have the ability to deepen its existing customer relationships and create new opportunities with companies seeking the flexibility and ease-of-use of open source systems.
القاهرة - أبرزت صحيفة (وول ستريت جورنال) - أحد أوسع الصحف الإقتصادية
انتشارا فى العالم - وصول مصر إلى المرتبة رقم 12 على مستوى العالم فى
مجال "تصدير الخدمات العابرة للحدود" بعد الهند والصين وماليزيا ودول
أمريكا اللاتينية ودول شرق أوروبا.
ونوهت الصحيفة الأمريكية -
المتخصصة فى المجال الإقتصادى - بأن مصر والأردن ودولة الإمارات العربية
المتحدة صنعت لنفسها مؤخرا مكانة ضمن أفضل 20 دولة على مستوى العالم
الأكثر جذبا لتقديم خدمات التعهيد وفقا للمؤشر الذى نشرته مؤسسة "إيه تى
كيرنى" للخدمات الإستشارية.
وقالت ماريام فام - التى كتبت المقال
بالصحيفة - إن بعض حكومات المنطقة وعلى رأسها الحكومة المصرية تعمل على
جذب الشركات العاملة فى هذا المجال لتحرير وتنويع مواردها بما يمثل فرصة
لهذه الشركات فى نفس الوقت للاستفادة من فرص التنافس فى الأسواق المحلية
المتنامية بالمنطقة.
وأرجعت احتدام هذا السباق الى ارتفاع مستوى
أجور العمالة فى هذا القطاع بالهند ، الأب الروحى لهذه الصناعة على مستوى
العالم ، وتسابق دول الشرق الأوسط على الدخول فى هذا المجال.
وأوضحت
أن دول الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا تشق طريقها الآن للدخول فى هذا السباق
باستضافة العاملين فى مجال المبيعات عن بعد ومراكز الخدمة والدعم الفنى
وما شابه ذلك وذلك بفضل تميزها بعامل فارق التوقيت الزمنى وقوة العمل التى
تتمتع بتعدد المهارات اللغوية ووفرة الإستثمارات البترولية والتوسع فيها.
ونوهت
صحيفة (وول ستريت جورنال) الأمريكية بأن بعض كبريات شركات تعهيد الخدمات
العاملة فى الهند قامت بإنشاء فروع لها فى منطقة الشرق الأوسط .. مشيرة
الى قيام شركتى (ساتيم وويبرو) بإنشاء فروع لهما فى القرية الذكية فى مصر، حسبما ذكرت وكالة أنباء الشرق الأوسط.
ومن
جانبها..قامت شركة (ساتيم) لخدمات الكمبيوتر بتوظيف 300 متخصص لافتتاح
مركز جديد لها فى القاهرة ليقوم بخدمة عملائها فى المملكة العربية
السعودية والعالم العربى.
وفى وقت سابق من العام الجارى..أقامت شركة
(ويبرو) مشروعا مشتركا لتعهيد الخدمات فى المملكة العربية
السعودية..وأعلنت مؤخرا عن خططها لدخول السوق المصرى.
غير أن
الصحيفة لفتت الى أن صناعة التعهيد عن بعد تواجه بعض التحديات فى منطقة
الشرق الأوسط مثل عدم الإستقرارالسياسى كما هو الحال فى العراق وإسرائيل.
ونقلت
صحيفة ( وول ستريت جورنال ) الأمريكية عن سايمون بيل أحد كبار الخبراء
بمؤسسة (إيه تى كيرنى) الإستشارية الذى عمل مع الحكومة المصرية مؤخرا
للتوصل إلى أفضل الطرق لجذب المزيد من أعمال تقديم الخدمات العابرة للحدود
وتصديرها من مصر .. متوقعا أن تصبح "منطقة الشرق الأوسط أحد أكبر المقاصد
الخمسة الكبرى لصناعة تعهيد الخدمات على مستوى العالم".
وأشارت الى
أن أعداد المواهب القادرة على الدخول فى هذه الصناعة فى دول الشرق الأوسط
لاتزال قليلة نسبيا فمصر ، وهى أكبر دول العالم العربى من حيث التعداد
السكانى تخرج 250 ألف خريج جامعى سنويا ولكن العديد منهم يحتاج إلى المزيد
من التدريب لتحسين مهاراتهم فى اللغات الأجنبية وبعض المجالات الأخرى
لتشجيع الشركات متعددة الجنسيات على تشغيلهم..ووسط موجة من التوسع تنهال
عروض العمل من الشركات الإقليمية على القلة المدربة فى مجال تكنولوجيا
المعلومات مما يعمل على رفع أجور هذه الفئة ومعدلات المنافسة عليها.
ونقلت
صحيفة (وول ستريت جورنال) الأمريكية عن السيد أجراوال من شركة (ساتيم)
الهندية قوله أن الأجور فى مصر خاصة بين العاملين الأكثر خبرة فى مجال
الخدمات العابرة للحدود قد تكون أعلى قليلا من مثيلاتها فى نيودلهى ولكن
مع توسع الأنشطة الإقتصادية فى الشرق الأوسط لايزال توظيف المصريين أفضل
للشركات العالمية من حيث التكلفة الاقتصادية.
وأضاف أجراوال أن
القاهرة منذ أمد بعيد هى العاصمة الثقافية للمنطقة وصادراتها من الأفلام
والمسلسلات جعل اللهجة المصرية مألوفة ومتعارف عليها على مستوى جميع الدول
الناطقة بالعربية.
وأوضحت الصحيفة أن اللغة تمثل ميزة كبيرة أخرى
بالنسبة للدول الناطقة بالفرنسية فى شمال إفريقيا حيث تقوم شركة
"تليبيرفورمانس" كبرى شركات تشغيل مراكز الاتصال ومقرها باريس" بتشغيل ما
يزيد على 3500 متخصص يقومون بخدمة الأسواق الفرانكفونية التى تعمل بها
الشركة.
وتتطلع الشركة إلى تشغيل مركز اتصال لها فى القاهرة لخدمة الشركات متعددة الجنسيات فى الولايات المتحدة وأوروبا.
وأضافت
أن فرص العمل التى تخلقها صناعة تعهيد الخدمات تمثل هبة كبيرة لدول منطقة
الشرق الأوسط التى تعانى من ارتفاع معدلات البطالة والمواليد ..وقد بدأت
بعض دول المنطقة فى الاستفادة من صناعة تعهيد الخدمات للاستفادة من هذين
الجانبين.. فالحكومة المصرية تدفع 80% من تكاليف تدريب الموظفين الجدد.
وأوضحت
أن شركة (إليكترونك داتا - إى دى إس) فى بلانو بولاية تكساس الأمريكية
تستثمر مع إمارة أبوظبى بدولة الإمارت فى مشروع مشترك بمبلغ 100 مليون
دولار لإنشاء مركز اتصال يستهدف خدمة عملاء بمنطقة الشرق الأوسط..وقد بدأت
هذه الشركة مؤخرا فى توظيف عمالة فى المغرب لخدمة عملائها فى أوروبا وذلك
بعد أن وظفت بالفعل 450 متخصصا فى مصر.
ونقلت الصحيفة عن تشارليز
كوكس نائب الرئيس الإقليمى لشركة "إى دى إس" لمنطقة الشرق الأوسط وإفريقيا
قوله "إننا ندرك أهمية هذه المنطقة سواء كسوق فى حد ذاتها أو كمركز يمكن
من خلاله خدمة أنشطة أخرى
Posted by
Hartmut Wilms
on
Aug 23, 2007 08:39 A
Richard Veryard, a software industry analyst for the CBDi Forum, ponders the question: Do we have to sell SOA? If yes, how should it be done? He also talks about the cost and ROI of SOA.
As Richard Veryard points out right from the beginning, SOA
marketing "involves two-way communication [...] - this entails
listening and responding to what the business wants. And that means
what a particular business specifically wants, not just vague
generalizations like 'adaptability' and 'customer satisfaction'". He
does so in reaction to Steve Jones' article "SOA needs Marketing", which clearly states that SOA has to be sold to the business:
Well guess what, the think about trying to communicate your
SOA strategy, service repository, service or whatever is... a marketing
job. You've got to think about it as a core part of your SOA approach
and develop an actual marketing plan.
The question if SOA has to be sold to the business directly leads to
the question "whether it makes sense to measure the ROI of SOA". John Devadoss discusses this question
and says that on the one hand "Service Oriented Architectures are
[merely] a means to an end", and that "any project, regardless of how
poorly organized, how over-budget, and how miserably aligned with the
business requirements can claim a good ROI, as long as the project
costs are amortized over a long-enough period of time". On the other
hand the question is, "can the business survive long enough to realize
the return?".
John Evdemon expresses his doubts that it makes sense to measure the ROI of SOA without a realistic "time frame":
ROI is not an exact science and will vary from one
organization to another (much like SOA itself). There are many ROI
models available, some more complex than others. The best ROI models I
have seen are relatively straightforward. Overly complicated ROI models
may require spending more time maintaining the model instead of working
on the project to be measured. When it comes to ROI use realistic data
points and time frames to determine the value an implementation may
have generated. SOA ROI requires patience - benefits may take a year or
more to be properly recognized.
So, do we have to sell SOA at all? Does the business need to know about SOA? Nick Malik has a blunt answer:
I’ve decided that the best way to “Sell SOA” to the
business is not to sell SOA to the business. Let’s talk about the
asthetics, the features, the speed and reliability, the automation of
their business processes to allow them to focus and innovate where it
counts. Let’s not talk about standard parts.
If SOA is a means to an end and if we don't have to sell SOA, then is it free? Loraine Lawson does not think so:
Much of the benefits of SOA — agility, quicker deployments,
less cost for development — won’t come immediately. And even if you
could reap that ROI immediately, there’s still the credibility problem.
You see, IT has promised all of this before. And in recent years, the
business has grown impatient with spending money on technology
solutions that promise to fix business problems, only to find next year
IT wants more money, again to fix the same problems.
Richard Veryard concludes that although SOA might be free and there
might not be a need to sell SOA regarding financial aspects, we'll have
to convince the business to play along and make them accept the demands
of an SOA undertaking:
[...] it doesn't mean we don't have to sell SOA to the
business. SOA makes demands on the business - perhaps not financial or
technological ones, but demands associated with architecture and
governance. For SOA to be successful (let alone "free"), the business
may need to consider certain structural opportunities, and to engage
with IT requirements in new ways.
The whole discussion about the costs, ROI or marketing of SOA boils
down to one thing: Business and IT have to adopt a common mindset - a
service-oriented mindset.
that Google will acquire on-demand communications security firm Postini Solutions for strategy which was born from their own 2005 acquisition of Frontbridge Technologies. With advanced security, archiving, and message filtering in place,
Google’s hopes are that this move will shine a new light on the Google
Apps suite as a viable hosted business suite to enterprise users who
often must conform to compliancy requirements in security and data
archiving. It’s a good move, and one that Google pretty much had to
make in some form or another. They’ve established over 100,000 Google
Apps users who will speak for the suite’s usability and aid in
productivity. Now they’ve set their sights on converting the hordes of
users who haven’t been convinced that usability benefits and frills
outweigh security and compliancy concerns.
As always, Phil has an interesting piece that takes the news and goes another step… “What next for MessageLabs?”
Michael Arrington was right when he heard GrandCentral was either in talks, or has already been acquired by Google. Today Google announced the acquisition
on their official blog, though the terms have not yet been disclosed.
If Arrington was correct, it’s safe to presume it was around the $50
million dollar mark.
What does this mean? Well, we can only speculate, but it could have
a huge impact in several areas for Google. First, imagine having a
single, always-on, always-ready, forever available, telephone number
that is tied to every phone number you currently have. By signing up,
you will have simplified your life and that of anybody else who tries
to contact you.
Now imagine having that single phone number tied to your Google Talk
instant messenger and Gmail. You can receive phone calls directly on
your computer from anyone and listen to voicemail right in Gmail — the
latter of which, interestingly enough, can already be used today.
The service is currently now in private beta — you will need an
invitation to set up a new account now. You will also find that it only
works for American phone numbers so far. There is no word on upcoming
features or plans to expand to other countries at this time.
Powered by ScribeFire.
The TIOBE Programming Community index gives an indication of the popularity of programming languages. The index is updated once a month. The ratings are based on the world-wide availability of skilled engineers, courses and third party vendors. The popular search engines Google, MSN, and Yahoo! are used to calculate the ratings. Observe that the TIOBE index is not about the best programming language or the language in which most lines of code have been written.
The index can be used to check whether your programming skills are still up to date or to make a strategic decision about what programming language should be adopted when starting to build a new software system. The definition of the TIOBE index can be found here.
| Position May 2007 | Position May 2006 | Delta in Position | Programming Language | Ratings May 2007 | Delta May 2006 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |  | Java | 19.140% | -2.18% | A |
| 2 | 2 | | C | 15.152% | -2.54% | A |
| 3 | 3 | | C++ | 10.114% | -0.82% | A |
| 4 | 4 | | PHP | 8.738% | -1.48% | A |
| 5 | 5 | | (Visual) Basic | 8.431% | -1.13% | A |
| 6 | 6 | | Perl | 6.152% | +0.10% | A |
| 7 | 8 |  | Python | 3.779% | +0.74% | A |
| 8 | 7 |  | C# | 3.656% | +0.38% | A |
| 9 | 9 | | JavaScript | 3.072% | +0.88% | A |
| 10 | 19 | | Ruby | 2.632% | +2.18% | A |
| 11 | 10 | | Delphi | 2.130% | +0.36% | A |
| 12 | 11 | | SAS | 2.076% | +0.60% | A |
| 13 | 12 | | PL/SQL | 1.979% | +0.97% | A |
| 14 | 18 | | D | 1.347% | +0.87% | A |
| 15 | 21 | | ABAP | 0.731% | +0.31% | A |
| 16 | 14 | | Lisp/Scheme | 0.698% | -0.19% | B |
| 17 | 17 | | Ada | 0.679% | +0.19% | B |
| 18 | 13 | | FoxPro/xBase | 0.637% | -0.37% | B |
| 19 | 20 | | Fortran | 0.630% | +0.20% | B |
| 20 | 15 | | COBOL | 0.627% | -0.04% | B |
