Slashdot Mirror
9 Open Source Companies to Watch
An anonymous reader writes "A look at 9 open source companies to watch, focusing on everything from systems management to portals to apps servers.
" Silly bits like where their names come from to less silly bits like how much VC they got and what they actually do. I haven't heard of many of these, but it's encouraging to see a growing number of businesses being built around Open Source.
They missed the #1 Open Source company to watch:
N3P
"N3P offers a brand new, contrasting and intrepid two-year college level training in how to become a successful Project Entrepreneur in Open Source. Our students will learn not only the technical possibilities, but also how to exploit new business opportunities, manage profitable ideas, and create flourishing businesses. The training will focus on how to generate business using open source."
N3P
1. Cleversafe - dispersed storage grid
2. Digium - open source PBX
3. Hyperic - manage heterogenous it environments
4. Optaros - consulting
5. Qlusters - open source systems management platform
7. Sahana - secure web portal
8. ws02 - open source application server
9. zenoss - network and systems-monitoring software
http://www.networkworld.com/cgi-bin/mailto/x.cgi
Why UNIX?
Bill Karpovich, bringing vague managerial-speak to OSS since August 2005.
Future ventures to include:
Paradigmoss
Leveragoss
Top-downoss
Empoweros
Bleedingedgeoss
Really, I could go on and on... But for the sake of my own sanity, I'll stop there. Besides, companies have been named far worse.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
Looks like they're too clever for us. They really really want to keep the article unreadable.
My turnips listen for the soft cry of your love
Shitty layout, interesting article.
New punctuation update "~" (no quotes) at the end of a line to indicate sarcasm. ~
Are there any other open source based companies besides Red Hat that are actually profitable? I don't mean this to be flamebait, just wondering.
I was at a conference a few months ago sitting in an Open Source track, and the panel of Open Source vendors basically said that the best chance of success in the open source business was to be renamed Red Hat and to have come about about six years ago.
Yeah? Well I think you're overrated too.
How do they plan to keep making money going forward?
I'm not trying to be negative or cynical, but it's surely the most interesting question as an external observer.
IBM. I win.
That's "Mr. Soulless Automaton" to you, Bub.
I mean, it's not a bad idea, but that name? Sounds kind of like eFax calling themselves Windows Print Driver.
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
karma ez ur friend in this lovely game of /.
Anybody else notice there are ten companies on this list?
here
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
not a business model.
...).
The OSS companies with a fighting chance of making it are ones which aggregate (RedHat et al), or ones which have huge numbers of users with some small fraction willing to pay for support (MySQL, SugarCRM,
To paraphrase some sales guys I used to work with, anything you give away for free has no value. In this case value means revenue potential. If the customer is not willing to pay to support the free product, then why are you "selling" the support?
This list is only looking at servers etc and none of these projects/companies would be of any interest in embedded space.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
I just wanted to know what the companies did. So here it is (company name followed by "What does the company offer?")
Cleversafe
The Linux File System, which lets Linux computers store information on a dispersed storage grid called the Cleversafe Research Storage Grid. The company plans to offer commercial dispersed-data storage services and software.
Digium
Asterisk, the industry's first open source PBX, and Asterisk Business Edition, a professional grade version of the software.
Hyperic
Hyperic HQ, an open source platform for managing heterogeneous IT environments, including operating systems and Web, application, database, middleware, and virtualization technology. The company also provides subscription-based services and support, as well as advanced features.
Optaros
Consulting and systems integration services focused on open source softwar
Qlusters
OpenQRM, an open source systems management platform.
Sahana
A secure Web portal that includes applications used to coordinate and collaborate during relief efforts following disasters.
WSO2
Tungsten, an Apache-based open source application server built from the ground up to handle Web services. The company is planning to roll out a line of Web-services-focused, Apache-based middleware, with its Titanium Enterprise Service Bus due for release soon.
Zenoss
Open source network and systems-monitoring software.
Zmanda
A commercial version of the open source AMANDA (Advanced Maryland Automatic Network Disk Archiver) backup utility software, as well as services and support for the software.
Tharkban (It is a signature after all)
See if you can figure out which company the "anonymous submitter" works for. Taking all bets!
rPath is quite interesting because what's the main hassle to get portability? Interfaces! Have a look at POSIX, glibc, M$.* and realize that those interfaces are big & fat. So, the easiest way to run an application might just be to contain it in its own virtual OS instance. And of course Cleversave is interesting (IMHO) because there is a practically infinite amount of storage out there and GByte prices are declining ever since harddisks were invented...
I prefer the term "companion", you petty thief.
Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
If you want to read this article, just hit the print button, it's impossible any other way (two people missed rPath :P ).
Plus the author must have missed it, cus there's actually 10 companies.
rPath
rBuilder, an open source platform that includes a tailored version of Linux to create preconfigured, pretested application appliances that can be downloaded and deployed by enterprise users in minutes.
Tharkban (It is a signature after all)
Funding: Private, plus angel investors, amount not disclosed.
Plus free, shameless advertisement through Slashdot:
Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Wednesday April 26
Posted by Zonk on Monday August 21
Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday August 28
Uncopyrightable: The longest word you can write without repeating a letter.
You missed Zmanda from the list as well
10. Zmanda - backup utility and software
I like how ZManda's web page says they offer "Two levels of world-class technical support".
Because some worlds are just naturally classier than others. I'd hate to get their Underworld-class support.
Apache is a non-profit charity that accepts donations. Not profitable.
MySQL is a privately owned German company, but they say that they've been funded by VC's since 2001.
So, no neither of those companies are profitable.
I understand that people want to make money off of their websites. I understand that a lot of people are dying to get published on slashdot because of the traffic flood and the ensuing revenue that follows either because of impressions or because even the anti-advertising slashdot crowd exhibits a click through rate.
But why force me to read 8 pages? Each page has roughly 25 lines of real content and less than 250 words. That and 301 links all designed to get their 25 line articles at the top of the SE listings. What happened to content being important? Even if this is interesting, the greedy, spammy practices that have invaded all of the social networking sites have to be at least slowed down.
At the very least this site should have provided an outline of what the companies are in the intro. At best, slashdot would provide a set of basic quality guidelines that would be the minimum standards for link publication. From a small webmaster standpoint, a lot of guys are faced with "how do I compete with that?" - the answer is often to pick up similar design, structure, and promotional tactics. The lack of quality control standards in most "Web 2.0" comunities have encouraged quality-free sites to spread like wildfire. Slashdot is a closed, moderated system and because of it's age, popularity, the fact that the staff and the even the audience are a little more technically savvy than most - it should have a model that other sites should follow. I see less of this kind of a problem here than on digg or others, but I just had to rant because this FA is a prime example of something that shouldn't be published (IMO).
And really? Are there 9 articles? I only see 8 pages and of the one's I looked at, I never saw a page talking about more than one company.
Well, start with $10 million of VC funding. Bury $1 million cash in your back yard. Then file for bankruptcy when the advertising dollars run out.
http://www.networkworld.com/cgi-bin/mailto/x.cgi?p agetosend=/export/home/httpd/htdocs/news/2006/0828 06-open-source.html
DynDNS.com. Of course, they're not a software company, but a network services company. But they've been a profitable private company since at least 2002.
Have you read the Moderation Guidelines Addendum?
Don't forget about #10: CardMeeting (multiplayer collaboration and planning), and that runs on Linux too, W00T!
:D (I have no shame!)
http://cardmeeting.com/
Disclaimer: I am the author of CardMeeting, so this comment is essentially shameless.
Another disclaimer: CardMeeting.com is alpha quality and we're adding features, but still purdy neat, (if I may be so bold.) Anyhow, please feel free to check it out!
db4objects - www.db4o.com .NET
Open-Source Object Database for Java and
I'll never use an O/R mapping tool again.
We've been profitable since day 1.
http://www.hyperic.com/
-John Mark
Community Manager
Hyperic
Hyperic Community Manager
A proposal I made many many years back was to run a league table, where so many points were scored for the release of an open source product, so many points were scored for updating someone else's open source product, so many for closed source products that supported or enhanced the usability of an open source product, etc. The more open source, the more points. Also, the more significant (in terms of power, flexibility, etc) the more points, and the more practical the more points.
The idea was to show who actually was doing work, versus who was merely bragging about it. The idea was also to make major Open Source figures (some of whom have never actually released a product but have contributed to many) just as prominent in the table as major corporations with Really Big Bucks to throw around. It would also show those who are working on making Open Source a key player in the computing world, even if their products are not themselves Open Source.
(Oracle would score points for having put their corporate database on Linux, for example, but it would not be as much as Computer Associates for putting their corporate database - Ingres - not only on Linux but opening up the source as well. Postgresql would score more yet, as it is not only Open Source but regularly maintained.)
Newcomers are at no disadvantage, because whatever REAL added value will show up notwithstanding the newness or the lack of awareness. If there's no added value, then there is nothing there to watch. It's merely a rebadge. If there's added value and this value is constantly added to (which is what a new company should be doing), then it will be a very obvious rapid-riser through the charts.
Proprietary vendors who are wary of opening their high-value major product lines will obviously not score as well, nor should they, but they will be represented as a function of what they have contributed - directly in terms of products, and indirectly in terms of improved usability.
Then, journalists MIGHT have a clue as to what is interesting and what is not. They might also have a clue as to what is significant, what is likely to become "big news" and what is worth the effort of covering.
As it stands, they neither know nor care. Whoever pays the piper calls the tune. Mind you, what I'm aiming for, with this idea, is not to introduce honesty, but rather to give people a copy of the songbook. Let people see for themselves if the tune is any good or is even what it's claimed to be. It would seem to me that an informed userbase will take care of the honesty issue by itself.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Hyperic has to turn down customers, although that won't be the case for long, as we bring in more people.
So far, no one bats an eye at our enterprise version pricing.
Hyperic Community Manager
THANK YOU!
9 Open Source (cutting edge) companies... buried in a 1997 web model where the ads take 75% of the space. I can live with a few smoothly placed ads, but that was ridiculous.
I have this list stored, and I will research it later.
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
OpenSubsystems (www.opensubsystems.org) is another interesting open source project and company that supports it. They provide ready to use business components for building Java applications, such as security, search, inventory management. You use their components to build your Java application instead of starting from scratch. They just announced that Siemens AG licensed their software.
Some people will download anything. I used to have a program on one of my web sites that was a plug-in to a high-end animation package. It was totally useless unless you had that package, and knew how to run it, which few people did. Thousands of people downloaded the plug-in, despite clear statements that it was useless without the main package. They'd even fill out the registration form.
Im not going to http://www.animats.com/ to get more totally useless (crappy plugin thingy) free spamware..
Asterisk is a much better name than Mark Spenser's senior project at Auburn: NADS. I don't think the professor was amused. If I recall correctly, they got the lowest grade in the class. I know some of the names are suppose to be funny but unless you're lucky enough to have a true geek running your IT department (pretty rare), you're not going to be able to use something named Drools or Groovy, no matter how good the product is.
Where's SCO...