Business models Re: [BSDCert] code of ethics

[christiaan]

Evan Leibovitch wrote:

> christiaan wrote:
>
>> Many lessons can be drawn from the LPI but is developing the business 
>> plan of BSD certifcation along similar lines as the LPI really 
>> feasible for the BSD?
>
>
>
> Very good question, and I agree that this kind of thing needs a higher 
> priority than codes of ethics. In fact, I think that the outline in 
> the roadmap that indicates that the business plan be done in parallel 
> with the certification plan is a mistake. IMO at least some of the biz 
> plan needs to be done before the cert plan is started because (like it 
> or not) the business models chosen *will* affect the cert plan.
>
> FWIW, we didn't know when we started LPI that it would have any 
> commercial demand. It was started on mutual agreement that something 
> was a Really Good Idea and could at leasts sustain itself IFF there 
> was significant community (read: volunteer or cheaper than market 
> rates) support.
>
> There was also a financial incentive for many of the early sponsors 
> that wasn't sheer philanthropy. I recall that just about every Unix 
> vendor did their own expensive and money-losing exams. To this day 
> there is no Unix certification but there is one for Solaris, one for 
> AIX, one for HP-UX, one for OpenServer, etc. Their individual numbers 
> have never themselves justified the cost but they exist because:
> 1) They help to sell training (which *is* a big moneymaker)
> 2) They add credibility and stability to the products
>
> It is notable that HP and IBM, two big Unix players, decided to join 
> SuSE and Caldera in supporting LPI when making their corporate 
> commitments to Linux in the late 90s (rather than making their own 
> Linux certifications). It was FAR cheaper for them to join the LPI 
> community than to each repeat the Unix mistake in rolling their own 
> certs (though they could have easily done that). Now both HP and IBM 
> (as well as many others)  do well with their own LPI-targeted training 
> initiatives. Having said that, not everyone in Linux space believes in 
> the community model (ie., Red Hat).
>
> Obviously at least some of the LPI model can't apply to the BSD 
> effort. It would be nice if companies like Apple or others who make 
> money from use of BSD could see the corporate advantage of supporting 
> this cert effort for the same reasons that IBM and HP did with LPI. 
> IMO, if Apple wants to legitimately get into server space or crack the 
> business market, it too will need a training/certification strategy.
>
> - Evan
>
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Given Evans experience, how many corporate sponsors are out there for 
BSD certification?  Maybe a fundamental question to the business model 
is rather, what is a 'sponsor' ? Is a sponsor a corporate or the student 
at college or the sysadmin or the novice at home?

Chris