Who represents the computer hardware and software customer? At standards groups, and before the legislature, those customers are represented by the vendors of their hardware and software. Unfortunately, the vendors represent their own best interests rather than those of the customer. Vendors often advocate policies that would reduce customer choice and increase prices. One area where this has become clear is advocacy of policies that effect Free Software and Open Source. Vendors are often conflicted about Free Software, since it tends to reduce vendor profit margins by commoditizing both hardware and software, and thus even the big Linux system vendors do not effectively advocate policies that would create a level playing field upon which Free and proprietary software could compete as equals.
But of course lower prices and more choice are all to the customer's advantage, even if they aren't to the vendor's liking. The Computer Customer Representation Project is creating an organization to directly represent the interests of computer hardware and software purchasers, exclusive of the interests of their vendors. Our initial focus is large corporate users of Free Software and Open Source, because this is constituency that can advocate for constructive change in the short term. They are motivated to protect their own right to choose Open Source software, and they have the funds to support an effort to protect that choice.
Capitalism works best when the customer has many choices of product and full power to choose, and the vendor must work as hard as possible to meet that customer's needs. When the vendor works to lock a customer in through unfavorable policies, there is no free market. The Computer Customer Representation Project seeks to establish a healthy market by giving the customer a voice equal to that of the vendor in policy-making.