Wall Street Panelists Face Linux Limitations

Even with Linux continuing to break new ground each and every day, the intellectual property concerns are still there. Frankly, it would make an investor a little nervous.

NEW YORK—There are a number of opportunities and challenges for Linux and open-source software going forward, particularly in highly competitive industries with specific needs, like the Wall Street financial services companies.

While Linux and open-source software got a resounding endorsement from a panel of vendors and investors during a session at the Linux on Wall Street conference here on April 24 titled “The Next Opportunities and Challenges for Linux and Open Source on Wall Street,” they also pointed to some of the challenges facing open source.

Stephen Jenvey, an associate with Fidelity Ventures, which has invested in open-source companies like SpikeSource, said intellectual property around code remains a huge issue, as does the licensing and implications of that.

“I know for a fact that many companies, including Fidelity, spend a lot of time scrutinizing code and being sure they know what they have and are selling,” he said.

Shaun Connolly, vice president for product management at JBoss, said the more open-source technologies are embraced, the greater the issues arising around this. “It is now enterprise software, and things like patch management and avoiding breaking other components in the stack are issues that enterprise open source has to deal with,” he said…. Source: eWeek

[tags]linux,open source,wall street,panelists,fidelity ventures[/tags]