When it comes to open source vs. closed source software, I keep an open mind and tell managed service providers to embrace the tools that best fit their companies. But during a conversation with GroundWork Open Source on February 13, I heard the latest proof that open source is pushing deeper into the MSP market. Here’s a recap of my conversation with GroundWork.
First, a little background: GroundWork makes network management software that competes with “the Big 4″ management tools (Hewlett-Packard OpenView, CA Unicenter, IBM Tivoli and BMC). The company says the vast majority of its large business customer wins are at the expense of the Big 4 management tools.
But check out this stat: Roughly 14 percent of GroundWork’s major customer wins involve beating out proprietary MSP tools, as shown in this chart:
To be clear, I’m not suggesting that open source will invade or overtake the entire MSP market. As Nimsoft CEO Gary Read has reminded me multiple times, free open source software often doesn’t scale to meet the needs of large enterprises seeking polished management tools. And Read has been quick to note that Nimsoft also displaces HP OpenView in major customer accounts.
New Alternatives?
But of the open source enterprise management options out there, GroundWork Open Source seems to be catching on — sometimes at the expense of traditional MSP software platforms, according to the chart above.
In recent months, GroundWork has been working to build its VAR and MSP partner network. The 120-person company (FEB. 17, 2009 CORRECTION: 30 to 50 employees) now has about 30 channel partners, according to The Open Source 50 — a research report that tracks open source partner programs. GroundWork’s partner program was ranked No. 16 out of 50 open source companies in the report. And I expect GroundWork to share more about its channel strategy in the weeks ahead.
MSPmentor is updated multiple times daily. Don’t miss a single post. Subscribe to our Enewsletter, RSS and Twitter feeds and Resource Center.
Read More About This Topic
Share This Post
Posted In: Platforms
Tags: BMC | CA Unicenter | GroundWork Open Source | GroundWork Open Source for Managed Service Providers | GroundWork Open Source for MSPs | Hewlett-Packard OpenView | IBM Tivoli | Nimsoft CEO Gary Read | Open source managed services
Interact: Add a Comment | Trackback Link | Permalink
Subscribe: RSS Feed
The challenge and the solution is not the software. If an organization has the good leadership and solid processes, the software – whether open source or commercial off the shelf – works. If the goals are not clear and the organization relies on the software vendor to “provide the best practices and solutions to thier business problems”, the software, whether open source or commercial fails. The business of software vendors is sellng software – this is not the business of most companies purchasing software.
Hey there Ben – I think the solution provider community does look for strategic vendor partners who are invested in their success. Striving for best in class code is a given, but its what offered around the software that can be a differentiator. Building a forward thinking community of like minded organizations who share knowledge and band together to own the IT space is a huge initiative at ConnectWise. From our ConnectWise Network to our education initiatives to our User Groups, ConnectWise is focused on creating true community in addition to a best in class platform. In addition, we offer six integration points in an our open API architecture allowing our platform to act as universal business operating system. Net net, I think solution providers do look for more than just the software.
Jeannine: You’ve also pointed out a strength — and weakness — of the open source world. The vast majority of successful open source projects have fiercely loyal communities where developers pitch in for the greater good of the project.
But many open source companies have been unable to reproduce the “developer” community into “channel community” success. We’re starting to see that change, as our own Open Source 50 report points out. But open source software companies as a whole still have a lot to learn about engaging, educating and empowering solutions providers. For the most part, I would agree that open source companies can’t match the power of several MSP software company communities, including the ConnectWise Network.
I would think that adopting Open Source Software as your monitoring tool makes your MSP business look like a software development company instead of a service provider. That’s not a cost model that smart MSPs should be interested in given that Open Source Software is really not zero cost; there is a ton of cost associated.
Open Source Software turns customer facing engineers into code/script writers. Instead of helping customers, engineers are always preoccupied with writing, protecting, modifying, and optimizing their own unique scripts.
There is an opportunity to collapse costs; even though on the surface Open Source Software is free. A business case is entirely made (for closed source monitoring software) by redirecting script writing headcount to do what they’re supposed to be doing which is take care of customers. Is $150K/yr for experienced engineers writing their own proprietary scripts the best use of this resource?
Open Source Software is high risk, if the engineer who wrote the script leaves you’re hosed, that’s what employees hold over you. As a manager, you’d hate hearing; “Bob wrote 12 of our monitoring scripts, if he walks we’re toast”. Also, is it really possible to stay on top of product revisions, would you be able to keep the Open Source Software current for the multitude of new technology releases you provide (or plan to provide) managed services for?
Ken,
I respect Nimsoft and I agree that many open source projects involve hidden costs and code that requires lots of customization/management.
The open source/closed source debate is a tricky one, especially when many journalists favor one side or the other and turn it into a religious software debate of sorts.
Generally speaking, I see a mix of open/closed solutions rapidly emerging. Oracle on Linux. SugarCRM on Windows Servers. And so on.
Also, there’s a clear difference between community open source and for-profit commercial open source. Few people pull out their hair running commercial Linux (Red Hat, NOVL, Canonical). The same will be true for a growing list of commercial open source applications.
As a general rule, I think the MSP industry is vastly underestimating the rise and momentum of open source in areas such as networking.
But to your point, there are plenty of open source projects that cause more problems than they ultimately solve. And there’s nothing worse than embracing an open source project that developers ultimately abandon…