Ubuntu Developer Summit Reformatted; Is Canonical Starting To Cut Costs?

Ubuntu Developer Summit Reformatted; Is Canonical Starting To Cut Costs?

The upcoming Ubuntu Developer Summit (UDS) scheduled to take place in Oakland, California in May 2013 has been 'canceled' and will instead be conducted online. This marks a major shift in UDS as they won't be physical events anymore. These events will now be organized online using Google Hangouts. The events will now take place for two days every three months.

Jono Bacon says, "As with the physical UDS, the event will also include keynotes, plenary sessions and lightning talks; providing a great online venue for planning the future of Ubuntu as well as delivering news, education, demos and other related material. As with the physical UDS, the new online format is open to all to participate as a contributor or viewer, and we are confident that the online format will open up UDS to more and more people around the world."

It's unclear why Canonical is changing the format, especially when they need it more to get mobile app developers to interact, engage and get involved with the core Ubuntu developers as the company is entering the mobile segment.

Physical interaction
Physical interaction has great benefits that's the reason there are events like CES or Mobile World Congress; that's the reason companies like Apple and Google organise I/O Summit or WWDC.

Canonical has been very aggressive lately in attending events like MWC, CES or LinuxCon -- which clearly tells that the company understands the importance of physical presence and meeting people face to face. So it's hard to understand why is UDS' format is being changed.

There is no doubt that organising events like UDS need big budget and Canonical, as Mark recently stated, is not making profits. Red Hat and SUSE dominate the Linux Server space, though Ubuntu is a significant player, but unlike Red Hat it's not raking in a billion dollars in revenues yet; it' not even profitable. Outside the server space Canonical doesn't have any money making product in the market yet.

Why enter a crowded market?
The company announced Ubuntu TV and Ubuntu for Android last year, but have not found any partners to bring these products to the market. If we compare that with Mozilla, within one year it not only succeeded in getting more an one and a half dozen partners, but also brought a heavyweight like Sony in its camp. While the users were expecting some news around Ubuntu TV and Ubuntu for Android, this year the company announced its entry into the crowded mobile space with Android-based Ubuntu Touch.

It's only going to make it harder for Canonical to fight for survival in the market with players who not only have more experience in the mobile space but also have an edge by entering the market earlier. Jolla, who inherits mobile experience from Nokia, already have OEM/carrier deals and Mozilla is already a reputed and trusted brand name among consumers.

Then there are those with deep pockets such as Microsoft (a dummy patent shark) and RIM who are fast losing the market to Android. Canonical is more than one year behind the competitors - both established and new  - it's first hardware, as the company says, won't be out before 2014) so it's a very tough road ahead.

Without any product in the market it's only going to get tougher for the company to continue investment in areas with zero ROI. It's hard to say if moving UDS to online only is the first sign of cost cutting.

The Market needs Canonical
Whatever the reason may be behind changing the format of UDS, the open source world needs Canonical more than before. Red Hat needs a competitor which used to be Novell/SUSE and have been acquired by Attachmate.

I don't much care about Canonical’s mobile ambitions as the industry is well covered with open source players like Mozilla, Tizen and Jolla to keep Google on it’s toes. But I do care about Canonical in the enterprise and server space to keep Red Hat on it’s toes.

If things are not working out well for Canonical, which is only my guess, I think Canonical should focus on the core areas where money is (enterprise). By announcing so many consumer centric products, which need more than just software, the company may be spreading itself too thin only to compete in a very crowded market.

Enterprise, I think, is where Canonical should focus on.