4 ms·

Microsoft is deliberately trying to be the biggest open source company in the world so I think Skype may not be the best example, maybe .NET core.

by cheez 8y ago

bad_user 8y ago
Lets get one thing clear ... this company never gained anything from developing and pushing .NET and they haven't acquired a company for it either. So no, that's not a good example. A better example would be Nokia.
- cabaalis 8y ago
  Do you mean .Net in general or .Net core? In my industry, Microsoft stacks are extremely common. The talent pool for C# in this area is tremendous, which has absolutely gained the company much synergy in the form of OS and MSSQL licensing. So the development of .Net in my opinion has made the company much more sticky. I can't help but believe they're making a mistake (even though I want it!) in pushing .Net to open source.
  - metildaa 8y ago
    If Microsoft doesn't ccontinue to open up parts of the .Net stack, the OS and MSSQL licensing revenue is going to taper off more rapidly. Microsoft sees the writing on the wall, their software is focused on a stable, but not significantly expanding platform, and Chromebooks are eating the lower quartile of it. If Microsoft can't retain developer mindshare, they are sunk.
    - spork12 8y ago
      I've actually seen the opposite happening. Organizations tend to favor MSSQL even though other free options like Postgres could do the job just fine. Large enterprises I've worked with such as hospitals, auto mobile companies and pro sports teams overwhelmingly prefer their web and mobile apps to be written in .NET over java/python/js. Azure is a huge step forward in bringing many of these traditionally in house technologies like SQL Server, SSIS, SSAS, Reporting Services, and .NET Web Apps affordably into the cloud as well as newer technologies that fit comfortably into companies' existing infrastructure (Data Factory, Azure Functions, HDInsight etc.) They are grabbing a huge amount of developer mindshare at the enterprise level, and by opening up their tools are allowing the younger crowd a free alternative to going with OSS. I'm definitely not a MSFT zealot. I have been a "linux guy" since I was 14 yrs old, but after working almost exclusively with the MSFT stack for the last 2.5 yrs I am very impressed with their offerings and the level of integration and cohesiveness around those offerings.
- spork12 8y ago
  "this company never gained anything from developing and pushing .NET" I would have to disagree. .NET has become the backbone of the MSFT developer experience and has gone far beyond being just an alternative to java. It's heavily used in Azure, SQL Server, Web Applications, Desktop, Mobile etc.
- the_trapper 8y ago
  They bought Xamarin. I'm also pretty sure they do make money from their Enterprise versions of their .NET developer tools.
- hnbroseph 8y ago
  > this company never gained anything from developing and pushing .NET eh? the whole reason they make tools is to lure developers.
- tracker1 8y ago
  Xamarin?

Microsoft is deliberately trying to be the biggest open source company in the world so I think Skype may not be the best example, maybe .NET core.

by cheez 8y ago

Microsoft is deliberately trying to be the biggest open source company in the world so I think Skype may not be the best example, maybe .NET core.

bad_user 8y ago

Lets get one thing clear ... this company never gained anything from developing and pushing .NET and they haven't acquired a company for it either. So no, that's not a good example. A better example would be Nokia.

cabaalis 8y ago
Do you mean .Net in general or .Net core? In my industry, Microsoft stacks are extremely common. The talent pool for C# in this area is tremendous, which has absolutely gained the company much synergy in the form of OS and MSSQL licensing. So the development of .Net in my opinion has made the company much more sticky. I can't help but believe they're making a mistake (even though I want it!) in pushing .Net to open source.
- metildaa 8y ago
  If Microsoft doesn't ccontinue to open up parts of the .Net stack, the OS and MSSQL licensing revenue is going to taper off more rapidly. Microsoft sees the writing on the wall, their software is focused on a stable, but not significantly expanding platform, and Chromebooks are eating the lower quartile of it. If Microsoft can't retain developer mindshare, they are sunk.
  - spork12 8y ago
    I've actually seen the opposite happening. Organizations tend to favor MSSQL even though other free options like Postgres could do the job just fine. Large enterprises I've worked with such as hospitals, auto mobile companies and pro sports teams overwhelmingly prefer their web and mobile apps to be written in .NET over java/python/js. Azure is a huge step forward in bringing many of these traditionally in house technologies like SQL Server, SSIS, SSAS, Reporting Services, and .NET Web Apps affordably into the cloud as well as newer technologies that fit comfortably into companies' existing infrastructure (Data Factory, Azure Functions, HDInsight etc.) They are grabbing a huge amount of developer mindshare at the enterprise level, and by opening up their tools are allowing the younger crowd a free alternative to going with OSS. I'm definitely not a MSFT zealot. I have been a "linux guy" since I was 14 yrs old, but after working almost exclusively with the MSFT stack for the last 2.5 yrs I am very impressed with their offerings and the level of integration and cohesiveness around those offerings.
spork12 8y ago
"this company never gained anything from developing and pushing .NET" I would have to disagree. .NET has become the backbone of the MSFT developer experience and has gone far beyond being just an alternative to java. It's heavily used in Azure, SQL Server, Web Applications, Desktop, Mobile etc.
the_trapper 8y ago
They bought Xamarin. I'm also pretty sure they do make money from their Enterprise versions of their .NET developer tools.
hnbroseph 8y ago
> this company never gained anything from developing and pushing .NET eh? the whole reason they make tools is to lure developers.
tracker1 8y ago
Xamarin?