Why is LAMP is the new literacy

Department of Veterans Affairs built perhaps the most important medical computer system in history.click to vist article

The above link is to an article which describes how the office of Veterans Affairs built a superior data system from collaborative grass roots activities.  

We hope to use grass roots activities to build a new method for interacting with the internet. We see the internet as the new literacy, that we are in a tower of babble period, where there are many languages and many more that don't know how to speak  them. We have chosen the language of LAMP as the standard and we hope to teach everyone how to use it. This language is similar to English, it is free, and very popular. Although it is a communication tool, it has a second more powerful ability - it stores and can make data give us information.  LAMP is the operating system of the internet and  it is free. It has at its core a database (MySQL) that is also free, open and written mostly in PHP code.

The language is not so much the PHP code, but the LAMP interface we use to interact with the data, this looks like Amazon, Facebook,  Thimbol, etc...   LAMP is the internet.       

Maybe you have heard of the for want of a nail proverb, which explains how overlooking fundamental aspects of a larger project can cause catastrophic failure. You may have also heard the statement "data is the new oil", that describes how important data is in today's economy.

Data is far more important than business managers understand. Business thinks that by purchasing software they can solve the issue of data. Simply purchasing software solutions, is similar to solving a literacy issue by hiring someone to read for you.

Think of purchasing a set of manuals that will run your business, in Latin, and not knowing how to read Latin. You hire a specialist that can read them for you. Then when you need to make changes, you must  go to these experts, and ask if they will make these changes. You end up not having a grasp on a vital aspect of your business. 

The want of the nail is the database, the fact that your business does not have full control, of the most significant aspect of what you do. Your business has overlooked how important data is, and has given up - the fundamental understanding, and ability to freely make changes. 

Just as you would not hire someone that can't read, you should not hire individuals that are not willing to learn how to use the web, and understand the fundamentals of software.

PHP is the language used to operate the MySQL database. Just as the English language used by many is free and open source - the MySQL database ranks number one, and is also free and open source.  

Because open source is free, there is no one marketing it as an enterprise solution. The internal components of open source will find their way into enterprise solutions, and branded with other names, why reinvent a well tested wheel?  Only the most astute companies like Amazon, Google, and Facebook understand it is essential to participate with core open source projects that are the core of their technology.

You might also think that because open source solutions are free, there is no support. You would not think that if you had ever worked with the communities that create the software. Every aspect has a maintainer that is ready to assist, you will find problems have been solved by others, and solutions are ready to incorporate. Of course you can pay any of these developers directly if you wish more customization.     

If you make farm equipment, sell furniture, or provide simple services, you would be wrong to think you don't need to understand this technology. Remember Taxi Cab companies? Uber is an open source solution that anyone could build for free. Did you see local Cab companies adopt the technology?  No, because the people that ran local Taxi Cabs thought they did not need to know this technology.

Technology is important to everything  you do.  You don't hire people to read for you, and you don't hire people to do technology for you, unless you have a grasp of the topic. You learn it yourself, then hire others only to build, and maintain.

Start small, ask questions, and build something for yourself first. Let us build you a personal site to start with,  don't forget your life is data too. Then encourage people at work to do the same, and before you know it, people will start teaching each other. After a while your business might also build a grass roots system to replace what you are using today. Then you will be free, and begin to innovate.        

Thimbol.com is a LAMP system, we use the PHP language, MySQL database, Apache server, and Linux operating system. All products that are free and open source, the same products that you can learn, and incorporate into what you do in business.      

Thimbol.com is about teaching you -  it is an open source business,  the place where you come to practice and learn.  We Teach For Free. 

Data is involved in everything a business does, and is more than just records, files, or reports. Data is  the central aspect of Artificial Intelligence, Data, and the technology behind it will be involved in everything we do.  

Chart from StackOverflow