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IBM really does support raw Eclipse

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IBM extending tech support to raw Eclipse platform | InfoWorld | News | 2006-09-06 | By Paul Krill

I recently asked some questions about Eclipse, RCP and what support means in the age of open source.

I was somewhat skeptical about some recent puiblic comments by Scott Handy, IBM OSS marketing supremo.

Well it appears the skepticism may have been unfounded – at least in the case of Eclipse.

IBM Software Group just announced that customers can directly purchase Eclipse support, rather than buying Rational Studio. The move is right out of the Geronimo/WebSphere Community Edition playbook.

The decision to directly support Eclipse is bold and shows industry leadership.

One company that probably won’t have enjoyed seeing the announcement is Genuitec, which although its $29.95 MyEclipse product is a lot more than just a support for Eclipse offering, and a lot cheaper than IBM’s $400 per developer pricing, will likely find enterprise sales situations against IBM a bit harder now.

Another Scott – Mr. Hebner – explains.

“Through its IBM Rational Elite Support for Eclipse program, IBM will for the first time provide support for raw Eclipse tooling, said Scott Hebner, vice president of marketing and strategy at IBM Rational. Tools also will be provided.”

The revenue disruption of Eclipse is beginning to kick in now. To those that say IBM doesn’t pass the benefits of OSS back to customers the raw Eclipse news is a near perfect riposte. I look forward to hearing from customers.

disclaimer: IBM is a client, Genuitec is not.

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3 comments

  1. The fact that IBM, Genuitec and anyone else can offer support for Eclipse is great for the customer.

    I think the following criteria should be applied before a project can be considered a true open source project.

    1 Cost of the software itself (i.e. Free)
    2 See the code
    3 License
    4 Get support for free from the community
    5 Gain commit level access to the code
    6 Choice (in paid support options & in software package options)

    For most people, 1-4 are the things that matter most. But 5 & 6 are vital for the health of a project and in turn, the risk (unwittingly?) undertaken by a user. A true open source project must deliver choices in support options and in how the project code is packaged to make my life easier. Case in point, with Linux, I can choose between RHEL, SLES, Ubuntu, etc. When any one company controls the project, then the only thing that has changed is that the customer is paying $10 for support vs. $10 for a license cost (if support is required). Increased choice, which should accompany a true open source project, ensures that no one company can hijack the users once they are ‘hooked’ on a given open source product.

  2. Mlinkovich briefly joked about conspiracy theories surrounding Eclipse, citing one in which participants are battling “Samurai Burger,” which is a code name for Sun. Although Sun invented the Java programming language that has formed a technology basis for Eclipse, Sun has not participated in Eclipse.

    any ideas on this statement ?

  3. Contrary to your assessment, Genuitec is incredibly pleased to hear that Eclipse technologies will receive the long-overdue support that will foster its adoption within industry verticals and hopefully into broader household use.

    Your evaluation seems to lose sight of the silent majority of Eclipse adaptors that are building Eclipse-based solutions (RCP or otherwise) and are completely outside the software tools space. The biggest hurdle these companies have to deal with is the lack of Eclipse expertise and support they need to give them the confidence to move forward. IBM’s decision to support Eclipse technologies will give the Eclipse Ecosystem a great boost and we are tickled pink to hear about it.

    It’s a win-win for everyone. Industry verticals receive the support they need, Eclipse Ecosystem and the tools market continue to grow, and Big Blue expands its services and consulting revenue. Call me naive, but I just can’t see the downside.

    As for Genuitec and MyEclipse, we will continue to be the value leader in offering Eclipse-based tools suites and world-class support for under $30 and without vendor lock-in. We will continue to delight our customers by giving them far more than what they pay for, and further by setting a new level of fairness in software pricing and delivery.

    Many kind regards.

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