The increasing trend towards the use of a wider variety of open source software by the enterprise calls for the development of improved vendor relationship management strategies. Seeing how most organizations, especially larger ones, use some form of relationship management function to govern activities related to IT purchasing, vendor selection, and/or contract negotiations, there is a defined need to ensure such exercises meet the unique needs of open source software vendors. In much the same manner that IT governance must be tailored to ensure its mechanisms are open source friendly, so do those of vendor management. Regardless of how it is handled, whether internally, by an external professional group or through a combination of the two, adjustments must be made to its approaches for evaluating, interfacing with and tracking metrics for open source software companies.
Evaluating
Even with most activities surrounding vendor management involve working with those vendors with which there is already an existing business relationship, other vendors should still be assessed with regularity and proper diligence. Depending on the sponsoring organization's needs and culture, vendors tend to be evaluated based on a potentially wide variety of criteria, spanning a number of areas. This fact notwithstanding, certain considerations must be made if open source software vendors are to be included:
- Measurements for community output: Determining what the value of the community infrastructure offered with an open source product is.
- Licensing implications: What are the implications of the suppliers open source license.
- Business model: Since all open source business models aren't the same, it's necessary to investigate the nuances of each specific one.
- Product variances: Most open source vendors offer a corporate/professional edition in addition to the freely available community version. It is critical to examine and identify the differences, if there are any.
- Market position: Where does the vendor stand in the marketplace? This inquiry entails taking stock of how well a given vendor is prepared to leverage open source as a supply of product differentiation.
- Open source value proposition: Analyzing how the open source model is going to affect the short and long term prospects and strength of the vendor.
Terms of engagement
In a similar vein to evaluating open source vendors, the protocol for interfacing with them needs to reflect the availability of different modes of interaction. While traditional approaches to vendor relationship management are still very much valid, provisions must be made to align the management of relationships on a business level with those that can and do take place at the community level. This isn't necessary with proprietary vendor relationship management, where strong, transparent product communities are (by comparison) few and far between and tend to be bound by the terms of procurement (i.e. you have to buy to join). However, open source companies offer an expanded array of channels for interaction and exchange. Similarly, these potential avenues of contact are to be accounted for within the context of successful relationship management.
After a contract has been signed or the procurement process is completed it might seem logical to neglect consideration of how the concept of community is relevant. Nonetheless, it remains important to safeguard against neglecting to substantiate these community-centric relationships. Therefore, it makes sense to define the responsibility of doing as a duty of a community relationship director. This role should be active in coordinating the various forms of interaction as they might occur at different levels, not for the purpose of enforcing restrictions, but for integrating them into an overarching relationship management blueprint, one which is driven by a comprehensive open source governance process.
Keeping track
Measuring and tracking open source companies is an intricate subject matter, one which deserves a post to itself. However, it suffices to state that in order to effectively track suppliers, vendor management teams must make use of both functional and business metrics. Though, contractual agreements tend to serve as the basis for most business metrics it is also relevant to keep an eye on financial stability, new product releases, market signals, and updated risk profiles. The beauty of the open source model is the premium it places on more open and transparent platforms through which companies interact with users, customers and the outside world. Accordingly, a great deal of information about the aforementioned can be ascertained through openly public avenues. The value of this reality needs to be fully recognized and taken advantage of proficiently.
Conclusion
The most effective tactics for open source vendor relationship management is driven by making a forthright endorsement of the impact of not only the business value of open source but also its fundamental differences which require novel approaches and strategies. By ensuring that methods for managing relationships with suppliers of software products holds for both open source and proprietary types, enterprises will be in prime position to fully leverage the competitive edge that the next generation of IT affords.
About the blogger
Alex Fletcher is lead industry analyst at Entiva Group Incorporated, a research and analyst firm which concentrates exclusively on the open source software industry. Alex's main focus is working to help clients of all sizes formulate strategy and policy surrounding their use of open source software within the enterprise. He has prior experience as a consultant, software engineer and start-up founder. Alex can be reached at alex dot fletcher -at- entivagroup dot com.
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