With the re-emergence of #Apple in impacting corporate IT, not to mention #Google’s impact, #Microsoft’s stranglehold could be threatened.  With other commercial giants (e.g. #Oracle) and #open-source advocates (Apache Software Foundation) doing all they can to make this happen, it behooves corporate IT to proactively understand pros/cons of “what if” not Microsoft.   Comparing http://www.openldap.org with Microsoft AD “at a feature/function level” is a good place to start.

This is NOT a recommendation to implement an alternative directory service/structure but it is absolutely a recommendation to map pros/cons of OpenLDAP and AD.

As with any good risk management approach, does corporate IT know what they gain or what they lose if Microsoft continues to lose end-device mindshare?  In reviewing all the emerging tech news, compare how many times Microsoft is mentioned vis a vis VMWare, Apple and Google…and Facebook.   Losing mindshare is the first step to losing marketshare, is it not?

Why would Facebook be lumped in above?  Open Compute Project, or OCP is the answer.  Before thinking Microsoft is impervious, think about the potential impact to HP, Dell, IBM, Lenovo, Oracle/Sun, EMC et al from OCP.  OCP is already beginning to take serious mindshare from corporate HW buying decisions.

With continued desktop and application virtualization, could this same fate happen to Microsoft?  Or will they adapt and embrace cannibalization to position themselves for future industry leadership?