daftkey makes some good (and fun) points ... but I'll share one vector from xTuple, another open source ERP vendor.
We set out to build an ERP software company, focused on building a better product - and we use open source (as well as a bevy of other technologies, buzzwords, and TLAs) as stragegic tools to help us do that.
There is no doubt in my mind that xTuple ERP is a dramatically superior product because of the input and involvement of our global community - not just paying customers and partners, but free users from around the world, many of whom we have no business relationship with at all.
I also firmly believe that our customers, who participate in that community, benefit from what some might call E2.0 ruboff as well. It's a fairly common thing to have someone in a completely different industry shine a light on a business process question (in a forum, blog, issue/bug, or other application on the website) that can have a real positive impact on your business processes.
I don't know that makes us fully buzzword-compliant, but I do think it makes all of us better.
Cheers,
Ned Lilly
CEO, xTuple
www.xtuple.org
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