Microsoft: Open source is too complex

Interesting tidbit from ZDNet Asia:

...Although open-source software can be customized to meet a company's specific needs, its inherent complexity could dent the profitability of independent software vendors (ISVs), says Microsoft. "One of the beauties of the open-source model is that you get a lot of flexibility and componentization. The big downside is complexity," Ryan Gavin, Microsoft's director of platform strategy, said on the sidelines of the company's worldwide partner conference in Boston last month...

Microsoft has a point for all-purpose ISVs, but certainly strong partners of RedHat and Novell don't seem to be suffering. Just like MSFT's various partners, ISVs for RHAT and NOVL -- who specialize in the RHEL and SUSE distros, respectively -- don't have to worry about that sort of complexity. They specialize, just like MSFT's dedicated partners.

I'd call Gavin's remark a straw-man argument, but I don't think it's quite that sturdy.

ZDNet Asia: Microsoft: Open source is too complex