Open Source As A SaaS Endgame: Etherpad Goes Open Source
In January of this year, I wrote a post urging the SaaS vendors to open source their code. In the same post, I also posted a public request to SaaS vendors to open source their app before they shut down. I strongly encourage vendors to open source their SaaS applications much like Wordpress, Deki Wiki [...]
Microsoft Azure Brings on Some Support for Open Source
As Azure gets closer to its release date of 01 January 2010 – the biggest question is what kind of support can you get for open source systems or programs like PHP. With AWS (Amazon Web Services) you can get Linux and native PHP support, and you can do the same with Rack Space Cloud [...]
SpringSource Acquires Cloud Foundry And Adds Momentum Towards Widespread Enterprise Adoption
SpringSource, the open source company VMWare acquired recently, appears to be in a mission. Now, they have acquired Cloud Foundry, the little company that helps users deploy Java applications on the cloud. Cloud Foundry is a self service, pay as you go platform which offered complete set of tools to manage the lifecycle of the [...]
Finding the Magic Penny, Intuit Partner Platform Goes OpenSource
Aroha is love if you give it away, give it away, give it away Aroha is love if you give it away, ‘cos it comes right back to you. It’s just like a magic penny, hold on tight and you won’t get any Lend it, spend it, give it away, and it comes right back [...]
Open Source and Cloud Computing Series: Canonical – An Open Source Company Embracing The Clouds
Canonical, the company behind the popular Linux distribution Ubuntu, is positioning itself to be a big player in the Cloud based era. They are plotting their move towards Clouds simultaneously through many different routes, from marrying Ubuntu desktop and server editions to Cloud to offering storage as a service to SaaS based management services. In this edition of [...]
Open Source And Cloud Computing Series: Commercial Open Source Ecosystem Is Taking Off
When Open Source started getting traction in the enterprise world, we saw business models emerge on top of the Open Source philosophical platform. One of the most successful business models is the so called Redhat model where the software is released under an Open Source license and monetization is done by offering support for a [...]
Open Source And Cloud Computing Series – What Is Under The Radar
In this second post on the Open Source and Cloud Computing Series, I am going to take a look at two open source products that will be showcased in Under The Radar Cloud Computing Event at Mountain View on April 24th 2009. Cloud Avenue is a media partner for this event and we have a VIP reader [...]
Open Source and Cloud Computing Series – Introduction
Richard Stallman (via last.fm) Open Source has played a major role in the progress of Cloud Computing. The Open Stack like LAMP are the ones that provide the backbone to many Cloud based solutions. Hadoop is transforming the way organizations and companies use Cloud. Whether you are an enthusiastic geek trying to set up a [...]
The Path To Linux Desktop Domination Is Through The Clouds
Image via Wikipedia I am sure this post is bound to stir passions. So, let me establish my bonafide credentials before I discuss my thoughts on the topic. I am a hard core believer and supporter of Open Source software. Even though I evangelize Open Source, I have great respect for Richard Stallman and admire [...]
PaaS, Trusting Beyond Its Initial Hype
Image via Wikipedia Friday, I wrote about the shutdown of PaaS vendor, Coghead, and wondered how one can minimize the risks involved with such scenarios. Unless we figure out a way to minimize such risks, it will be impossible to convince enterprise customers to trust their applications on top of PaaS. Let us take a detour and check out some of the players [...]
Google Gears – Lifeline of SaaS
Image via CrunchBase After Google made an announcement about the offline capability of Gmail using Google Gears, Raju Vegesna, Zoho Evangelist, wrote a post listing various applications that make use of Google Gears to offer offline capability. The list shows some surprising (?) names, and just in case it’s not complete, feel free to add [...]
Open Source as a SaaS Endgame
Image via CrunchBase As an Opensource evangelist, I have been strongly arguing in favor of Opensourcing the SaaS applications. I have also argued how it can reduce the risk for SaaS users and improve their trust on SaaS. Another area where Open Source can add value in the SaaS world is in building the confidence of the customers. There is [...]
Open Source Value Addition in SaaS
Image via Wikipedia Stuart Cohen, writing on Business Week, declares that Open Source business model is broken (See Techmeme discussion). For anyone who hasn’t been paying attention to the software industry lately, I have some bad news. The open-source business model is broken. He argues that Open Source companies are struggling because they could not [...]
Opensource to SaaS – ezPublish Makes The Move
When I introduced my ongoing Living in the Cloud Series, I said I will feel very confident if the vendor releases the source code of the app under one of the OSI approved licenses. Apart from the actual benefits of Opensource, I can also be sure that I will still be able to use the [...]
Openness – It is not for a Cloudy Day
Image by dsearls via Flickr Recently, Nick Carr wrote an article in response to a blog post authored by a Google employee about Openness. He argues that Precisely so. We can (and will) have debates about the relative openness of Azure and AWS and Force.com and all the other "cloud platforms" that are available or [...]
