SAP Follows IBM Into the Open Source Arena: Proprietary Software Companies have Learned That It is in Their Best Interests to Contribute to the Strategy, Says Stephen Arnold (Opinion‪)‬

With the release of IBM OmniFind 9.1, enterprise search officially embraced open source software. But IBM's approach involves its zany pricing scheme and a lorry filled with options for security, analytics and code gizmos to hook OmniFind 9.1 into other enterprise solutions' content. My first pass through the May 2010 release revealed a system that will have IBM's sales engineers thinking about their next BMW and 12-day Caribbean cruise. Without much fanfare, SAP - an outfit that shares similarities with IBM's market approach - has also experienced a growing affection for open source. SAP's executives have traditionally believed in building or buying software. A good example is the firm's NetWeaver product, which arrived still squealing from its birth at Top Tier almost a decade ago.