The religious wars between open source and closed source may have been provoked a bit by a dusty old memo surfaced this month. However, there are also signs of maturity in the open source community (business) as well, which includes two businesses that bode well for those in the web architecture and development worlds.
One of those companies, Specifix, was co-founded by former Red Hat executives Kim Knuttila and Eric Troan and will include others from the Linux and GNU atmosphere.
Specifix is interesting as it initially is focusing in on providing tools for managing a single code base across multiple configurations and systems running Linux. This includes changes to Linux distribution source code to meet a customized need in a web-based application.
Offerings of open source introducing stability and assurance could be central selling points for web firms looking to market open source platforms to customers, promoting a single manageable code base (not only OS code, but also the systems and software running solutions, like Apache, Tomcat, MySQL and others). While this may seem secondary to drawing interest to and selling web applications — IT managers look at the entire package, including hardware, software and system integration — even if that is not part of a web contract’s obligation.
OpenSource Advisors of Needham, MA is offering a unique blend of consulting and technical services to advise customers on the acquisition, maintenance and upgrades to hardware and open source software.
These two are not alone and we are sure to see many firms cropping up trying to fit in between Linux distributors and hardware/software makers aimed at Linux and open source.
Key to web firms is the rise of organizations focusing on standardization, advisory services and analytical review of open source. The resulting data becomes ancillary marketing material to promote the stability and longevity of open source solutions for web firm clients and prospects.
Blane Warrene
