The free-market capitalistic definition of companies' goals was, for a long time, very simple: to make as much profit as possible. With that in mind, the only difference…
I think that Ericsson's initiative is very laudable. This bottom-up approach, based on the contribution of a great number of individual contributors can foster the creation of great innovations. But more importantly, their selection, the way these best ideas are pushed forward, may lead to management's attention it may not have received in a “traditional” organization. If thousands of people who have inner knowledge of their market think a new product may revolutionize their industry, chances are high that it will do so.
However, I wonder how far this approach can be perceived as being “open-source”. This program involves the employees, of course, but very little is said about the link created with partners and customers... and even the public !
As long as all this innovation is kept away from people's eyes, I would not consider it “open-source”. It is merely “internally open”. I would be happy to hear more about what differentiates this initiative at Ericsson from other corporate projects. There is one word that, in my opinion, symbolizes the open-source principles: “community”. I could not read it once in that article.
Wouldn't Ericsson reap even bigger benefits by contributing to an open community rather than just having a large-scale internal tool ?
I do not pretend to have the answer to this question, and, clearly, if Ericsson would share all these ideas to the external world, it could jeopardize these very ideas and innovations to the competitors. But isn't that the true spirit of open-source ?
Authored Comments
I think that Ericsson's initiative is very laudable. This bottom-up approach, based on the contribution of a great number of individual contributors can foster the creation of great innovations. But more importantly, their selection, the way these best ideas are pushed forward, may lead to management's attention it may not have received in a “traditional” organization. If thousands of people who have inner knowledge of their market think a new product may revolutionize their industry, chances are high that it will do so.
However, I wonder how far this approach can be perceived as being “open-source”. This program involves the employees, of course, but very little is said about the link created with partners and customers... and even the public !
As long as all this innovation is kept away from people's eyes, I would not consider it “open-source”. It is merely “internally open”. I would be happy to hear more about what differentiates this initiative at Ericsson from other corporate projects. There is one word that, in my opinion, symbolizes the open-source principles: “community”. I could not read it once in that article.
Wouldn't Ericsson reap even bigger benefits by contributing to an open community rather than just having a large-scale internal tool ?
I do not pretend to have the answer to this question, and, clearly, if Ericsson would share all these ideas to the external world, it could jeopardize these very ideas and innovations to the competitors. But isn't that the true spirit of open-source ?