If a Linux interoperability deal is done in a forest, and no one is around to witness it, does it really exist?

I wrote last week about how the conservatism of many senior IT executives is a significant barrier to widespread open source adoption. A recent post from Richard Steel, CIO of the London borough of Newham, is a reminder that the machinations of the open source software world are not as engrossing as some supporters might consider them to be.