Comments on: Untangle, N-able Deal Accelerates Open Source, MSP Convergence

By: Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:47:31 +0000

Insteaon vs. X10: Reinforcing your point — look at VMware’s acquisition Jan. 12, 2010 acquisition of Zimbra (open source email). And soon, Oracle owning MySQL (assuming the Sun acquisition gets approved). Blended/hybrid source continues.

By: Insteon vs X10

Insteon vs X10 — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 06:17:00 +0000

I agree with the comment about hybrid source, we’re seeing more and more of a push for business to own the rights to make changes as needed and own those changes while letting the vendor make overall improvements to the base code. The line isn’t black and white anymore, it’s a medium-opaque grey.

By: Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 14:32:23 +0000

Rob: Thanks for weighing in. Open source is something that’s near and dear to me. But I also realize many journalists spend far too much time painting open source as “good” and closed source as “bad.”

I think we’re heading to hybrid source, where most vendors offer a mix of closed source and open source solutions. But ultimately, I hope all vendors are striving for open interoperability.

By: Rob Bissett

Rob Bissett — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:36:35 +0000

Good blog – Great topic. We’ve been an open software since day one for many of the same reasons you noted here. As you may know, our N-central software is Linux based, Uses PostgresQL databases, leverages a Tomcat application server, etc. The reason we use these types of technologies is so we can design flexible, high-performance applications that don’t require our customers to purchase operating systems, per processor licensing for SQL server, etc. They also open the doors to greater opportunities for integration with other products such as PSA tools, Intel vPro and Microsoft System Center Essentials which is a huge draw for VARs and MSPs. Another key area is the Application Programming Interface (API)-based integration we have with both Autotask and ConnectWise – this gives our partners the ability to share Customer, Device, and Asset information and integrate these tools into their own back office applications. Keeping in line with the example you cited prior, these API’s could also be used to integrate with Salesforce, should a partner want to. In fact, the integration announced below with Untangle leverages our native integration capabilities – meaning there was no programming or code development required.

Bottom line is this: Having the ability to integrate with other products, systems, and workflow processes is a critical and necessary component for any MSP platform and it’s certainly an area that we continue to invest in and that holds tremendous value in the eyes of our partners. It’s good to see integration and the value of open source get more air time.

Rob Bissett
Director of Product Management
N-able Technologies
rbissett@n-able.com

By: Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:44:53 +0000

This just in: Some more perspective on open source converging with managed services, and MSP platforms opening up, from eWeek Channel Insider.

By: Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:24:44 +0000

Steve T: I just got off the phone with Michael Proper, CEO of DirectPointe, the top-ranked on our MSPmentor 100 list. He mentioned open source — again and again — as a core component in his strategy to continue scaling DirectPointe.

I recorded the conversation for an upcoming podcast. I should have the podcast online in the next few days for you, if you’re interested. http://www.mspmentor.net/category/podcasts/

By: Steve T

Steve T — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:44:51 +0000

I think you made a similar statement a few weeks ago calling for msps to open up their platforms more. I agree that it will happen but gradually. Most of the channel grew up using, selling and supporting microsoft. Open means different things to different people.