Open Sources | Rodrigues & Urlocker » Lee Thompson's OSBC Keynote: "The Bazaar Cathedral: A Look at Open Source at E*TRADE FINANCIAL"

May 23, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Lee Thompson's OSBC Keynote: "The Bazaar Cathedral: A Look at Open Source at E*TRADE FINANCIAL"

TAGS: Open Source

Lee Thompson gave a strong keynote this morning [Slides here]. It was particularly impressive given the scale at which E*Trade runs open source software.

In fact, Lee argued that this scale far outpaces what proprietary software - as a model - can achieve. Moving to Linux took $16 million out of E*Trade's costs and allowed them to spend that money elsewhere, while simultaneously driving up performance (considerably). Moving to Linux, Lee suggested, has had a tangible, positive effect on E*Trade's business. It delivered business value, in other words. It's not about cost. It's about performance.

Lee noted that the "cathedral" development model simply won't work at E*Trade because of its global expansion and fast pace. The open source "bazaar" model is required for an E*Trade-esque business.

To make it work, Lee indicated that every developer's science lab has to be able to fit on their laptop, not a data center. In fact, Lee demo'd all of E*Trade.com running on his laptop, which was incredible to see (and a testament to the power of open source). He, like Rob earlier, indicated that the innovation that he was showing was simply not possible with proprietary software. Not fast enough.

Ultimately, open source works for E*Trade because it allows the company to bring IT down to its micro level - the developer. It doesn't require a data center. It requires a laptop/desktop and someone with ingenuity. Isn't that a better way to build IT?

E*Trade has long been an advocate of and benefactor to open source, as Lee has been showing for some time. I believe he points to the future of IT. That future is open. Because it's a better way. Because it works.

Posted by Matt Asay on May 23, 2007 10:10 AM

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