Luca Bolcioni, 37 years old, Electronic Engineer, after an experience at ST Microelectronics in France, returned to Italy, earned a PhD in Electronic Engineering at the University of Bologna, and founded YACME together with other partners, of which he is still a managing partner. He has gained solid experience in network management/administration and in the development of web-based systems on the Linux platform. He is the author of a patent (“System for documentation of events”) and several scientific publications.
Add us to your preferred sources.
How is the Italian Open Source market presented and what are the prospects?
The Italian market varies by segment, and within the Open Source market I would analyze the three main ones: Public Administration, Large Enterprises, and SMEs. Public entities would have every reason to adopt open-source solutions, primarily to enable savings on future operating costs in exchange for targeted investments. Sharing and adapting existing solutions among various administrations would guarantee the best quality/price ratio of services to citizens, since a specific investment made by a single administration would correspond to the same service provided with the same quality by all others. And this is exactly what CNIPA promotes through the Competence Center for software reuse in central public administration and by creating the reuse portal. The general feeling is that these concepts have only been partially understood. Probably due to structural shortcomings or a lack of shared needs analysis, only paths leading to savings measurable in very short terms and that are already “ready to use” are pursued, instead of relying on projects with longer time horizons and solutions tailor-made to the client’s needs. Large enterprises are mostly interested in saving license costs, but often question the impact that alternative solutions might have on the efficiency of the personnel who must use them. The conversion of personnel is perceived as a very significant cost that must be justified and shared with the users themselves to ensure that adopting such solutions is truly profitable. Clearly, it is an investment in internal staff from the company’s perspective and an excellent professional growth opportunity from the personnel’s point of view. SMEs, finally, focus more on direct and immediate savings than on solutions that cover all their operational needs. If open source software meets basic needs, it is evaluated, though not always fully understood, solely for the savings component. In Italy, the cost-saving aspect is the main trigger for interest, although it is important to make the client understand that the opportunity offered by open source software is to allow a higher degree of customization at equal costs.
What relationship do companies have with this market?
Initially, fear. The phenomenon of free code sharing is something companies do not know whether they will be able to manage or not, and generally there is no assumption of responsibility in this respect, except for rare exceptions, from IT management who are more accustomed to evaluating closed-box solutions. However, the fear is more related to a lack of knowledge of the potentials of what is freely available rather than an actual rejection of open solutions. Companies that undertake mixed solutions usually do so to avoid closing off the possibility of choosing the best solution compatible with previous software investments and with the ability to manage them. This, in fact, can lead to indirect costs that are difficult to evaluate beforehand and to solutions that are not scalable over time.
What is Yacme’s vision?
Our strength lies in value-added IT solutions. The value of software does not lie in the external box, but in the solution it provides to a problem. Winning is software that fits people like a garment who will end up using it. Open source software has an intrinsic adaptability advantage over proprietary software because it is fully modifiable according to the needs of those who will use it. The more the requirements expressed by a client resemble what is present in open source software, the lower the cost will be to fully satisfy the needs of the company requesting such service.
Who is your typical client?
The client who engages in analyzing existing alternatives and invests in creating a pilot project to solve their own need. Regardless of the specific project requirements expressed, creating a pilot encloses the process that leads the client to “discover” the open source world and to navigate the myriad of proprietary offerings, helping them identify valid components from both worlds, thus enabling them to fully meet expectations by making an informed choice.
Who are your competitors?
The most formidable competitors are certainly all companies, without exception, that see their IT staff as a resource and open source tools as a means to achieve their quality and efficiency goals. The most damaging competitors, on the other hand, are companies that improvise their own business units dedicated to open source without truly understanding its dynamics.
What does Yacme offer beyond the competitors present in Italy, why choose you?
In this field, success stories are the best business card. Saying you can do it is one thing, having done it is another. Our wealth is our clients and their ideas that we have been able to turn into solutions. What we try to do is understand who we are facing and listen to their needs. We help them deeply analyze the problem to jointly find the solution. This solution becomes a tailor-made project that has the fortune of always being implementable and integrable, thus more enduring. Choosing us is almost a lifestyle choice. Jokes aside, we have a special and very close relationship with our clients in almost all cases, and we strive in every way to give visibility to their successes as well. Especially when our clients are pioneers in using new technologies! I believe it is a winning card, which goes beyond and integrates the other winning card which is competence.
What are the sector’s latest developments?
Surely 2007 presents itself as a preparatory year for evaluating fully open source systems even on the end user desktop. European directives on the matter and their adoption into national laws are a further catalyst for the public world. So are projects already started and successfully completed that have served as test beds. For the private world, 2007 (and also 2008) could be the year of renewals and/or technological infrastructure upgrades. This inevitably leads to some assessments and comparisons. Next-generation Linux desktop versions are certainly one of the solutions that will be most considered due to maintained levels of security and reliability and the excellent and attractive graphical interface they have reached to satisfy—and spoil—the most demanding users.
How did the last year go and what are your future goals?
We can consider ourselves lucky. Yacme is a company that has always grown so far. In numbers and in people. The goal is certainly to continue the growth trend observed in recent years, avoiding growth that is solely quantitative. It is the complexity of projects and the development of highly innovative solutions that constitute our preferred meal… and that is what we do best. We do not have, and do not want to have, the structure to follow a large number of projects and clients with perhaps similar needs. Just as clients choose us, we choose our clients. We have preferred not to be the company that tries to fulfill all requests that come to it, choosing instead to focus on what we do best and that, ultimately, gives us the most satisfaction. After all, a tailor-made suit can only be made by a tailor, and a tailor cannot satisfy the needs of those who prefer off-the-rack clothes. We are also convinced that everyone should have both garments in their wardrobe. Certainly, for the most important occasions, a tailor-made suit is definitely more appropriate and almost mandatory.
Be the first to comment