Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding
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Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, recently having announced that they are dropping their massive Unity desktop project is now announcing a large restructuring (read: downsizing) effort that looks to shed 30-60% of their staff globally in an attempt to get the company profitable.
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That's not a good sign.
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@StrongBad said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
That's not a good sign.
Not at all. Trimming 30-60% is a lot more than a simple restructuring. That's last ditch disaster avoidance.
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It would be rather awful for the industry if they were to suddenly collapse. They are too big to fail, in a way.
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@StrongBad said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
It would be rather awful for the industry if they were to suddenly collapse. They are too big to fail, in a way.
Really? I know of no one that is actually purchasing support through them.
As a platform they are massive, and are used globally, that I understand. The question I have is Canonical doing most of the software development or is the community?
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As a business there was a decision made to go with Unity, and that turned away a lot of people. Now they are going back to Gnome.
The timing of it all, screams bad business decisions were made, and are trying to be corrected. Just like any other business who is coming across hard times.
Will the platform up and disappear from this? I have my doubts.
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@DustinB3403 said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
@StrongBad said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
It would be rather awful for the industry if they were to suddenly collapse. They are too big to fail, in a way.
Really? I know of no one that is actually purchasing support through them.
As a platform they are massive, and are used globally, that I understand. The question I have is Canonical doing most of the software development or is the community?
I've seen a few, but it's rare.
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@DustinB3403 said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
@StrongBad said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
It would be rather awful for the industry if they were to suddenly collapse. They are too big to fail, in a way.
Really? I know of no one that is actually purchasing support through them.
As a platform they are massive, and are used globally, that I understand. The question I have is Canonical doing most of the software development or is the community?
Canonical does loads of the development and lots of places use their software because they can get support, not necessarily because they do get support. This will have a lot of ripples.
Maybe Red Hat or Suse would pick up support contracts to protect customers.
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@StrongBad said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
@DustinB3403 said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
@StrongBad said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
It would be rather awful for the industry if they were to suddenly collapse. They are too big to fail, in a way.
Really? I know of no one that is actually purchasing support through them.
As a platform they are massive, and are used globally, that I understand. The question I have is Canonical doing most of the software development or is the community?
Canonical does loads of the development and lots of places use their software because they can get support, not necessarily because they do get support. This will have a lot of ripples.
Maybe Red Hat or Suse would pick up support contracts to protect customers.
Sure, but the support that may be had, isn't helping the business. The focus of the employee cuts are around the Unity team. Not general development teams.
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@DustinB3403 said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
@StrongBad said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
@DustinB3403 said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
@StrongBad said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
It would be rather awful for the industry if they were to suddenly collapse. They are too big to fail, in a way.
Really? I know of no one that is actually purchasing support through them.
As a platform they are massive, and are used globally, that I understand. The question I have is Canonical doing most of the software development or is the community?
Canonical does loads of the development and lots of places use their software because they can get support, not necessarily because they do get support. This will have a lot of ripples.
Maybe Red Hat or Suse would pick up support contracts to protect customers.
Sure, but the support that may be had, isn't helping the business. The focus of the employee cuts are around the Unity team. Not general development teams.
The cuts are deep, way deeper than just the Unity team. That team could not have been that large.
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Canonical is only able to turn a profit by providing actual support to people. People who use the software, don't turn into dollars.
If Canonical went the same route as Red Hat, and limited access or changed development focus to have two different versions, then I could seem them making a better profit.
But of course, you'd have a fork in the project, one community support (ie CentOS) and the other business supported.
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@DustinB3403 said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
Canonical is only able to turn a profit by providing actual support to people. People who use the software, don't turn into dollars.
Can't sell support if you don't have customers.
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@Reid-Cooper said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
@DustinB3403 said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
Canonical is only able to turn a profit by providing actual support to people. People who use the software, don't turn into dollars.
Can't sell support if you don't have customers.
Can't have customers if your product doesn't need support.
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@DustinB3403 said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
If Canonical went the same route as Red Hat, and limited access or changed development focus to have two different versions, then I could seem them making a better profit.
How would having two names for the same product change their profitability?
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@Reid-Cooper said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
@DustinB3403 said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
If Canonical went the same route as Red Hat, and limited access or changed development focus to have two different versions, then I could seem them making a better profit.
How would having two names for the same product change their profitability?
The same way that RedHat and CentOS exist.
Here is the end of Ubuntu Server, and here is Ubuntu Enterprise. The community edition could carry the Ubuntu title. etc.
Different platforms, and different development teams working to maintain the product.
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Obviously Ubuntu Enterprise would have support and licensing much like RedHat does today.
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@DustinB3403 said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
@Reid-Cooper said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
@DustinB3403 said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
If Canonical went the same route as Red Hat, and limited access or changed development focus to have two different versions, then I could seem them making a better profit.
How would having two names for the same product change their profitability?
The same way that RedHat and CentOS exist.
Here is the end of Ubuntu Server, and here is Ubuntu Enterprise. The community edition could carry the Ubuntu title. etc.
Different platforms, and different development teams working to maintain the product.
But that's NOT how Red Hat and CentOS work. CentOS only exists for historical reasons, not because it makes financial sense.
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@DustinB3403 said in Ubuntu News: Massive Downsizing and Searching for Funding:
Obviously Ubuntu Enterprise would have support and licensing much like RedHat does today.
Ubuntu already has a model that is nearly identical to that. Ubuntu (paid) handles the supported version and Ubuntu (free) does not get support. Other than having only one name instead of two names for the same product, it's just like Red Hat's model in that way.
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I think it is just shuttleworth-how-you-write-this who does not want to fund the company more. They are searching for fund raising in the private market.
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Maybe that is all that it is. He's tired of it.
