Microsoft's Hernán Rincón Launches Anti-FOSS Missile In Brazil

According to Hernán Rincón, president of Microsoft Latinoamérica, companies which fail to compete turn to offering their software as open source.  

When we covered the news on Microsoft accepting mistake and loving open source, we got a lot of response from the community and most were saying that it is just a trick. It seems they were right to some extent. Today surfaced the news of Hernán Rincón, president of Microsoft Latinoamérica saying, companies which offer open source software do so because they have failed to compete with proprietary rivals. The report was originally published in the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo. 

Rincón got on the offensive when speaking about competition from the likes of Google and said, "When you can not compete, you are declaring open. This masks incompetence." He went on to add, "When convenient, the companies say they are open. They use it for their own benefit."

These remarks were made during a meeting with Latin American journalists in Bellevue. After he was asked about the Brazilian government's support and use of open-source software. Rincón said, "innovation software does not happen in the hands of governments but the private sector."

Rincón tried to explain logically why the government should use proprietary software. "According to Rincon, free programs require more work and investment from the government to keep them running and updated -- which does not happen when companies take care of that for the government," a translated version of the story stated.

Brazil is one of the few countries which has warmed up to open source at all levels. It has even pledged to implement it across their government infrastructure. Both the government and the tech community there love free and open source software.

Open source software poses a huge potential threat to Microsoft's markets. We are already witnessing open source software eating into Microsoft's market share. And the future seems bleaker for Microsoft. Faced with such a huge open source following, Rincón probably feels like he has nothing left to lose by making these remarks. With a community this strong it is tough to reposition Microsoft's stand on open source. So, through Rincón, is Microsoft reverting once more to its old strategy of launching the anti-FOSS missiles?

What has to be noted here is that Rincón conducted these interviews from the main Microsoft offices in Redmond. So, we can conclude that this was not his personal stand on an issue but something bigger.

Following is the statement by a Microsoft spokesperson to SeattlePI in response to this news:

    On Wednesday, a Brazilian publication reported on a comment that does not reflect the company's position on open source. As a company we are committed to becoming more open, which we have demonstrated by increasing our contributions to open source communities, investing in numerous interoperability projects, supporting industry standards and working with our customers to best meet their needs in a world of mixed IT environments. A July blog post by Microsoft International President, Jean-Philippe Courtois, clearly outlines our corporate approach to openness.

    Microsoft has a long-term commitment to Brazil and above all, to the future of every Brazilian citizen. At Microsoft we believe that innovative technologies and the partnership of government, NGOs and the private sector can transform education, foster local innovation and create jobs, providing the basis for sustainable economic and social development. Furthermore, we are currently working with the Federal Government of Brazil on several joint projects to promote this cycle of sustainable development.