The World Wide World: IT Ain't Just the Web ... - Cdn.oreilly.com

specs and standards. (Ultimately, though, that same infrastructure can be used at
marginal cost against less frequently used, long-tail modules.)
Anyone can download SpikeSource’s open-source stacks (i.e. the standard modules
of free software). The stacks serve as a kind of marketing for SpikeSource’s chargedfor
services, including ongoing updates to the stacks (security patches, for example),
telephone support and of course its testing services. The testing is key, whether for
enterprises who want to make sure the software they use will work, or for ISVs who
want to make sure the software they distribute or sell and support will work.
Most interesting to Polese are the implications of open source – both on software
design and on business models.“Open source is commoditizing the software industry
– which is actually a good thing, a sign the industry is maturing. [SEE RELEASE 1.0,
MAY 2004.] In the new era, revenue comes from the service wrapped around the code,
while the code itself is free. So innovation is shifting up to the next layer – process
automation for aggregation, testing, delivery and support,” says Polese.
“Our edge is going to be our head start and the scale that total automation will
afford us; that’s the core of how we scale. We won’t be alone in this business. Our
innovation is the test harness and other automation methodologies. Our data will let
people know what works and will provide guidance in what to use when. The value
is shifting from the bits to the combinations of the bits.”
PANEL – New Directions in Search: Mirror Mirror on
the Wall
New search services will understand a lot more about the user’s world in order to serve
users better. Search isn’t just entering a query in a box to get the best answer; it’s finding
the information you want in context: What are you trying to do? With whom? And
where? The new search services need to understand more about you, your friends and
the world you live in to provide meaningful information in response to a query. . .or in
the context of some other application. They will rely on domain-specific knowledge as
well as greater personalization and metadata to perform their magic.
In short, search isn’t just matching a simple query with a simple answer (or list of pages
that possibly contain the answer). It requires an understanding of the user’s needs –
which may not be defined sufficiently by a phrase in a dialog box – in order to respond
44 RELEASE 1.0 WWW.RELEASE1-0.COM