Bonum Certa Men Certa

Where Do Gartner's and Fortify's Attacks on Free Software Come From?

“Analysts sell out - that’s their business model… But they are very concerned that they never look like they are selling out, so that makes them very prickly to work with.”

--Microsoft, internal document [PDF]



WE RECENTLY showed Microsoft's attacks on NC, as demonstrated very clearly using internal communication. This was practically done by the Gartner Group at Microsoft's behest and with Microsoft's invocation.



There are many other such cases where Microsoft uses the Gartner Group against Microsoft's rivals (including GNU/Linux), typically using Microsoft funding. Gartner also negotiates its coverage of Microsoft products... with Microsoft. We gave plenty of examples like these before, but the following new example sure resembles the group's attack on NC, which is a paradigm shift (away from the 'desktop') that Microsoft simply cannot allow. Is the following man yet another 'attack dog' of Microsoft?

Analyst: SaaS and open source ‘won’t happen’ in 2009



Software as a service, the model by which software is hosted and delivered over the network, “will not happen” in 2009, according to Gartner research director, Andrew Rowsell-Jones.


Was this opinion bought? Did he truly believe what he said with a subconscious bias?

Another known 'attack dog' of Microsoft is Fortify, a Microsoft ally that's currently attacking messengers who promote Free software, including the conservative party in Great Britain.

Microsoft's past talking point was that Free software is more expensive, but having realised that the public no longer buys this FUD, the company and its partners proceeded to attacking using "security" as ammunition, not "cost". Here is some more analysis which contradicts the latest FUD:

First, Conservative shadow chancellor George Osborne no less put out another chapter in his tech emerging manifesto, extolling the wonder of open source and berating the Government for its inability to see the light. His job is to berate governments, which tend to be easy targets, and open source software makes a hard bat.

That, predictably, prompted one vendor with an axe to sharpen, Fortify Software, to remind the media, to remind the media of a report released last July by the company that found security patching fault in 11 Java packages. Disclaimer: Fortify sells software assurance products.

Inevitably, a number of sources have slated Fortify in turn, and one, Coverity, has even come up - hey presto! - with its own report showing that, on the contrary, open source programs had fewer flaws than closed source, not more.


It sure seems as though Fortify was lying or bending truths to promote itself and vilify its ally's nightmare. It's easy to make up supportive numbers while hiding the rest [1, 2, 3].

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Red Hat's Owner is Called "America's Worst Tech Company" (IBM) and Microsoft's Liabilities Grow
Microsoft has about a quarter of a trillion (yes, trillion with a "T") in liabilities
How the SLAPPs From Microsoft Staff Are Connected to the Corrupt OSI, Whose Majority of Money Comes From Microsoft for Openwashing, LLM Hype, and Whitewashing GPL Violations During Class Action Trial
Let's explain how some of these things are connected
 
The Finances of GAFAM Aren't as They Seem
MICROSOFT FINANCIAL PYRAMID revisited
Links 12/05/2025: US Brain Drain and Reminder That "Microsoft's Lobbying Efforts Eclipsed Enron" (Fraud Coverup)
Links for the day
The Enshittification of Royal Mail (Post Office/Postal Services) Continues
Enshittification is a thing, not only in the digital realm
If the Gossip is True, Today Microsoft Has "Large M1 Meetings" to Discuss Almost 30,000 More Microsoft Layoffs in 2025
the claim is that Microsoft is preparing to lay off 10% of its staff
Microsoft Has a Long and Proven History of Funding Meritless Lawsuits Against Rivals and Critics (It Always Backfires)
It also looks like the solicitor used by two Microsofters to SLAPP us is being urgently replaced
Links 12/05/2025: Gardens and Kitchens
Links for the day
Links 12/05/2025: Media Being Attacked (New Forms of Attack on the Press), Many Data Breaches
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, May 11, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, May 11, 2025
Links 11/05/2025: Pyotr Wrangel and Kubernetes With FreeBSD
Links for the day
What Happened to the Open Source Initiative (OSI) Elections: A Moment of Silence and Revisionism Amid US Government Investigation and Community Uproar
Not a word this month
Microsoft Florian Becomes Patent Troll, Arranges to Sue Companies (Extorting Money Out of Them)
From campaigner against software patents to paid Microsoft shill to "FOSS patents" (actually attacking FOSS) to revisionism as "books" (for Microsoft)... and now this
Links 11/05/2025: China's Fentanylware (TikTok) Tells Kids to Vandalise Schools' Chromebooks and Increased Censorship in India
Links for the day
You Need Not Be a Big Company to Defeat Microsoft If You Can Successfully Challenge Its Core "Ideas"
Maybe that's just a sign that the ideas of RMS have become too effective and thus "dangerous"
Gemini Links 11/05/2025: Yeeting Oligarch Tech, Offline Browsing
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 10, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, May 10, 2025
One is Simply Doomed to Fail When Working for Violent Men From Microsoft and Attacking Women as Well as People Who Merely Expose Crimes or Report Real Crimes
Imagine saying to people that you "practice law" or "exercise law"
The Tariffs Are Accelerating Microsoft's Decline in China
Judging by the way things are going, there will be considerable adoption of GNU/Linux in years to come, China being one major contributing factor.
Control Your Systems, Control All Your Data
what does it take for us to control our own systems and data?
Misplacing Blame for Security Problems, Sometimes With LLM Slop That Blames "Linux" for Microsoft's Failures
Broken telephones and stochastic parrots beget plenty of Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD)
Links 10/05/2025: WW2 Revisionism, Further Tit-for-tat in India-Pakistan Conflict
Links for the day
Links 10/05/2025: Germany Considers Smartphone Ban in Schools, Right to Repair Bills
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/05/2025: Git Server and Great LLM DDoS of 2025
Links for the day
Blizzard/Microsoft Unions Grow Ahead of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, Apparently Starting Next Week (as Many as 30,000 Workers Laid Off by Year's End)
Microsoft already fired about 5,000-6,000 workers this year by our estimates; that's not counting resignations compelled through pressure (i.e. pushed, did not jump) and contractors
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 09, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, May 09, 2025