Category Archives: Open Source Software

Debunking the top open source myths

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Many IT executives choose open source over proprietary software, but some remain skeptical.

Today many IT executives choose open source over proprietary software for everything from cloud computing to facilitating teamwork among remote workers. Open source increases security and privacy, encourages an engaged community and offers the ability to "look under the hood" to diagnose and resolve issues quickly.

Gartner predicts that by 2016 99% of Global 2000 enterprises will use open source in mission-critical software. As analyst Andrea Di Maio noted in a recent blog, open source is even becoming increasingly popular with governments as they look for new methods to reduce spending and increase efficiency.

But some organizations are still skeptical, and most of their concerns stem from long held misconceptions. Here we debunk the three major open source myths:

* Open source myth #1: Open source isn't secure. Before the digital business era, the ability to personally interact with a brand led to an implied trust. But, as more of your customers', employees' and partners' sensitive data is stored outside your control, the need to verify the security measures offered by vendors is becoming paramount. Open source code's transparency offers security validation for end-users, instilling a sense of trust that proprietary software cannot offer.

It's this very reason that governments, such as the Republic of Peru, are adopting "open source first" policies. The U.K.'s recent decision to mandate its agencies' office suites support Open Document Format (ODF) is another manifestation of this trend, and the U.S. General Services Administration's recent policy to prioritize open source software in all new and developing IT projects.

* Open source myth #2: Too many cooks in the kitchen. The open source community is the strongest and most well known asset for pushing open source forward and supporting its success. After all, the origin of open source lies in the rich collective of developers who began sharing source code to build on existing software and networks. In enterprise IT, however, some managers fear that the potential for too many options may lead to a lack of direction and waste of resources on open source investments. Proprietary software claims to offer a route that is defined and clear, albeit limited.

The open source community of contributors gives open source projects the support needed for complex integrations with leading technologies in every industry, the insight to identify and patch security components, and the creative potential to aim for extensive goals and uncharted roadmaps. For example, when the Heartbleed bug was uncovered, open source projects addressed it more aggressively than any other group or organization.

* Open source myth #3: Unclear business value. Open source can complement and extend proprietary offerings, such as service and support options, dual licensing agreements and hardware integrations. As a result, businesses can harness the innovative power of the open source community while using its insights to drive revenue for its own content.A great example is the ability to build custom modules on top of collaboration software that can integrate into industry specific software, like customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

The incentive to be more open pays off in all aspects of business, from customer relationships to new technologies. Embarking on open source initiatives sends a strong message about your organization's commitment to this plan. An open source project will flourish with strong input, active collaboration and boundless creative thinking at its core, and its results can yield market success in ways a proprietary software route is unable to touch.

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Debunking the top open source myths

Black Duck Software Raises $20M To Advance Leadership In Open Source Software Logistics

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BURLINGTON, MASS.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Black Duck Software, the leading OSS Logistics solutions provider enabling the deployment and management of open source software (OSS), today announced that it has closed a $20 million investment round led by General Catalyst Venture Partners with all existing investors also participating in the round. The funding will be used to help the company expand its global go-to-market model to fulfill the rapidly growing OSS Logistics market opportunity. In addition, the company today announced the appointment of Stephen Gregorio as its Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President.

Gregorio, who played a critical role in securing the new funding, has over 25 years of financial management experience at high-growth technology companies including Verdasys, Interwise Corporation (acquired by AT&T) and Gensym Corporation, among others. Reporting directly to Black Duck President and CEO Lou Shipley, Gregorio will help Black Duck expand aggressively in the fast-growing OSS Logistics sector.

With this funding in place, we are well-positioned to advance OSS Logistics solutions across the enterprise, said Shipley. Over the next 18 months, we will release powerful new solutions aimed at solving critical supply chain and software development challenges that have resulted from the explosive growth of OSS in enterprises worldwide. Black Duck is among the first to recognize the need for a smarter, more efficient approach to streamlining, safeguarding, and managing the software development and deployment chain. As such, we are ready to help the worlds most innovative organizations better leverage, secure, and grow their investments in open source to achieve greater business success.

According to Gartner, a leading market research firm, 95 percent of all IT organizations will leverage non-trivial elements of OSS technology in their mission-critical IT portfolios by 2016, and fewer than 50 percent of organizations will have implemented an effective strategy for procuring and managing OSS. Black Duck has a rich history of helping Fortune 1000 firms dramatically improve software quality, hasten application development lifecycles, and improve compliance while mitigating security risks.

Black Ducks Board of Directors and investment advisors are equally optimistic about the companys future in this emerging market.

Weve partnered with Black Duck since it was founded, and over the past decade the company has successfully evangelized and supported the safe and proper use of open source software for thousands of enterprises worldwide. Now that OSS has matured and become ubiquitous across organizations of all sizes, they are ready to drive the next phase of explosive innovation and growth in the market, said Larry Bohn, Managing Director at General Catalyst Partners.Black Duck provides the only platform that enables enterprises to manage the increasingly complex OSS logistics frontier.Its a great example of a company weve been bullish on for a long time that maintained its focus while the market was catching up to its vision. Its future looks really exciting.

Further accelerating Black Ducks growth will be Gregorios proven financial management experience. In his previous positions, he successfully managed IPOs, handled merger and acquisition transactions on both sides, raised both debt and equity capital, and served as general counsel, negotiating customer, partnership, and channel agreements.

About General Catalyst

General Catalyst Partners is a venture capital firm that makes early-stage and growth equity investments. The firm backs exceptional entrepreneurs who are building innovative technology companies that transform industries, including KAYAK, Demandware, Stripe, Airbnb, The Honest Company, Warby Parker, Datalogix, BigCommerce, Snapchat, HubSpot, and Datto. The General Catalyst partnership leverages its broad experience to help founders build market-leading businesses. General Catalyst has offices in Cambridge, MA, Palo Alto, CA, and New York City. For more information, visit: http://www.generalcatalyst.com or http://www.twitter.com/gcvp.

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Black Duck Software Raises $20M To Advance Leadership In Open Source Software Logistics

M&A Due Diligence: Open Source Report and License Analysis Service Now Offered by WhiteSource Software

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Woodbury, NY (PRWEB) September 04, 2014

Open source software components, while free to use, have a license attached to them. The license lists the requirements that the company using the open source software needs to meet. Certain licenses may impose restrictions on the intellectual property of the software products that use them. Also, failing to meet license requirements could make the use of the open source components illegal.

Therefore, investigating which open source components are included in a software product and how they are used is a standard part of every M&A due diligence process.

In addition to M&A, open source due diligence is standard in OEM deals, where the licensor is often required to indemnify the licensee. Increasingly, we see software buyers insisting on due diligence because they are concerned that legal action against a vendor will affect their operation.

While open source due diligence has always been a standard requirement for most transactions, the growing percentage of open source components in commercial software means that manual due diligence or the use of software scanners is no longer an option.

Ron Rymon, a serial entrepreneur and active chairman of WhiteSource software, was involved in two open source due diligence processes:

I was involved in two M&A transactions and the open source due diligence process in each transaction was completely different. When negotiating the sale of the first company, we had to work very hard to create a report of the open source components that we used and their licenses. We spent a few man weeks including some very long nights working on the open source report, while negotiating the deal during the day. It was very hard. This is why we started WhiteSource says Rymon.

WhiteSource creates a full open source report, including risk and compliance analysis, in one click. So when I sold the second company, we were able to produce the report in minutes.

WhiteSource now offers an Open Source Due Diligence package, aiming at providing a quick and cost-effective answer to the need of producing an open source analysis for an M&A, private equity, OEM and software purchasing deals. To contact WhiteSource here.

Want to hear more about Ron Rymons M&A experience and about the WhiteSource solution?

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M&A Due Diligence: Open Source Report and License Analysis Service Now Offered by WhiteSource Software

Black Duck Raises $20M To Advance Leadership In Open Source Software Logistics

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Black Duck Software, an OSS Logistics solutions provider enabling the deployment and management of open source software (OSS), today announced that it has closed a $20 million investment round led by General Catalyst Venture Partners with all existing investors also participating in the round. The funding will be used to help the company expand its global go-to-market model to fulfill the rapidly growing OSS Logistics market opportunity. In addition, the company today announced the appointment of Stephen Gregorio as its Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President.

Gregorio, who played a critical role in securing the new funding, has over 25 years of financial management experience at high-growth technology companies including Verdasys, Interwise Corporation (acquired by AT&T), and Gensym Corporation, among others. Reporting directly to Black Duck President and CEO Lou Shipley, Gregorio will help Black Duck expand aggressively in the fast-growing OSS Logistics sector.

With this funding in place, we are well-positioned to advance OSS Logistics solutions across the enterprise, said Shipley. Over the next 18 months, we will release powerful new solutions aimed at solving critical supply chain and software development challenges that have resulted from the explosive growth of OSS in enterprises worldwide. Black Duck is among the first to recognize the need for a smarter, more efficient approach to streamlining, safeguarding, and managing the software development and deployment chain. As such, we are ready to help the worlds most innovative organizations better leverage, secure, and grow their investments in open source to achieve greater business success.

According to Gartner, a leading market research firm, 95 percent of all IT organizations will leverage non-trivial elements of OSS technology in their mission-critical IT portfolios by 2016, and fewer than 50 percent of organizations will have implemented an effective strategy for procuring and managing OSS. Black Duck has a rich history of helping Fortune 1000 firms dramatically improve software quality, hasten application development lifecycles, and improve compliance while mitigating security risks.

Black Ducks Board of Directors and investment advisors are equally optimistic about the companys future in this emerging market.

Weve partnered with Black Duck since it was founded, and over the past decade the company has successfully evangelized and supported the safe and proper use of open source software for thousands of enterprises worldwide. Now that OSS has matured and become ubiquitous across organizations of all sizes, they are ready to drive the next phase of explosive innovation and growth in the market, said Larry Bohn, Managing Director at General Catalyst Partners.Black Duck provides the only platform that enables enterprises to manage the increasingly complex OSS logistics frontier.Its a great example of a company weve been bullish on for a long time that maintained its focus while the market was catching up to its vision. Its future looks really exciting.

Further accelerating Black Ducks growth will be Gregorios proven financial management experience. In his previous positions, he successfully managed IPOs, handled merger and acquisition transactions on both sides, raised both debt and equity capital, and served as general counsel, negotiating customer, partnership, and channel agreements.

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Black Duck Raises $20M To Advance Leadership In Open Source Software Logistics

David Klann Talks About Using Open Source Software in Broadcast Radio (Video)

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Tim Lord: David, what is community radio and how did you first get involved with that?

David Klann: Yeah, thats a great question. There are lots of different kinds of radio stations out there, the most common of course is the commercial radio station where they sell time. It is kind of like with Google the product is not the Gmail the product is youthe user. In radio, the product is the listener. And then theres public radio. In my home state, we have Wisconsin Public Radio, theres National Public Radio. And then theres community radio. Community radio stations are typically independent. They are typically run almost completely by volunteers. Ours has three part-time paid staff members, and the rest of the station is run by volunteers.

Tim: Tell everyone the name and the frequency of your community radio.

David: Oh sure. The radio station that I am associated with is WDRT. It is in the Driftless region of Wisconsin and we are on 91.9 FM and wdrt.org.

Tim: How big a radio does that actually take in?

David: Compared to some it is a small station. We are 480 watts and we cover about a 25-mile radius around the tower. So it is a pretty small geographic footprint but we like to think that we are making a huge impact in the community.

Tim: Running a radio station is a lot different from people doing person-to-person communication, as in HAM radio.

David: Yeah, right.

Tim: What are some of the complications? What are some of the equipment that you use for instance? How do you get a signal from soup to nuts, how do you actually put a signal out on an FM station?

David: Sure. I think the main thing is that the FCC is heavily involved. I think it is partly because these things are such high powered. Even at 500 watts we are far more powerful than a lot of HAM radio outfits and certainly more powerful than the old CB radios, more powerful than the cell network, individual radios on the cell network, I think partly because of the large power output and also because of the limited spectrum that was originally allocated for FM radio. Radio stations, unlike other over-the-air wireless communications, radio stations first of all, they are one way. It is all being sent out from a source. So at our stationand this is pretty typical of radio stationswe have all the input devices, microphones, turntables, tape players, CD players, computers, iPods, whatever people bring to the station, all that gets funneled through what we call the audio chain. At some point, right before it leaves the station, we digitize it, and we send it to two places: We send one half, not really half, but we send one copy of it up to the transmitter. We use a leased Ethernet line for that. And then we send another copy of it out to the stream on the internet. And so our internet stream, and our FM broadcast are identical. In the chain from the studio to the transmitter, youve have got an encoded piece of audio that gets sent up over the Ethernet. At the other end, at the transmitter end, it gets decodedit turns back into analog audio and then is sent to the transmitter just via coaxial cable.

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David Klann Talks About Using Open Source Software in Broadcast Radio (Video)

AWS Windows Instance Set Up Step 4: Installing Open Source Software for Data Science – Video

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AWS Windows Instance Set Up Step 4: Installing Open Source Software for Data Science
This video is part 4 in a series of 4 videos that show how to set up a Windows virtual machine (instance) using Amazon Web Services and then provision it wit...

By: ProfessorEaston

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AWS Windows Instance Set Up Step 4: Installing Open Source Software for Data Science - Video

Online xTuple University Beta Opens for Enterprise Software Training

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Norfolk, Virginia (PRWEB) August 29, 2014

xTuple announces the immediate availability of xTuple University (xTupleU) an online learning center for the enterprise software open source community. During the beta period, registered users enjoy complimentary, unlimited access to all training videos on the site.

The xTupleU no-charge beta period closes October 20, 2014, at the end of the companys global user conference #xTupleCon14. The beta includes two months of full access to the complete video library. This is all new content, published now for the first time, with more subject matter expertise added daily.

Registration for a beta account at xTupleU is open to anyone.

More and more small- and mid-sized business owners find it difficult to leave their organizations for long periods of time, even for a training class that directly impacts their bottom line. Technology-focused educations future is online, self-guided, and video-based, and xTuple has responded in kind to the communitys expanded training requests with the launch of xTupleU.

The xTupleU site is a perfect do-it-yourself learning opportunity for users of xTuples free and open source software version, PostBooks, used by tens of thousands small- and mid-sized businesses globally," said Pierce Tyler, vice president of xTuple knowledge management.

xTuple enjoys a reputation as extremely responsive to the open source community when it comes to improving product quality, as evidenced by the third prize-filled haxTuple bug-squashing competition. xTuple developers also lead the world among open source enterprise resource planning (ERP) projects in resolving reported bugs, with a close rate of over 94 per cent, according to statistics.

Current xTupleU topics range from operations to accounting and system administration to software development. Hot topics such as Business Intelligence for small to larger enterprises are covered. Both the Desktop and new browser-based Mobile Web clients are featured, as is the new xTuple Server, which both applications also share. Content includes short (approximately ten minutes or less) lessons from the entire five-day basic xTuple training course entitled Setup, Configuration & Operations typically used as a refresher to in-class materials.

xTuple University features:

xTupleU delivers a professional development foundation for users of xTuple software products (and for those in the ERP evaluation process) with self-paced courses available wherever you are, day or night. All that is needed is access to the Internet and a computer, tablet, or even a smartphone at home, during work, at the library or your favorite coffee shop. Designed with the end user in mind, xTupleU promises to increase operational efficiency.

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Online xTuple University Beta Opens for Enterprise Software Training