Open Sources | Rodrigues & Urlocker » Open source and SaaS: Bosom buddies?

December 02, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Open source and SaaS: Bosom buddies?

TAGS: Open Source

Nick Carr has a great post on SaaS (software as a service) and SAP's difficulties in groking it. As I read Nick's post, I was struck by how much the things he says about SaaS apply to open source:

Last month...[SAP competitor] Glovia introduced a new version of its software, aimed at the many small and mid-sized manufacturers who find it hard to afford traditional, complex enterprise applications and all the related software, hardware, staff, and consultants required to install and run them. The new version, called GSInnovate, is provided as a single, all-in-one service, incorporating both the application and the infrastructure that runs it, which clients tap into over the Internet using a web browser. The software is simpler than the traditional version, having 22 modules rather than 70, but it's still customizable through various process templates. The client pays a simple monthly fee for the service and can discontinue it at any time. There's no license, no lock-in.

That's what SaaS is....

What's interesting is that SAP also has a close partnership with T-Systems' utility arm. Many SAP clients, particularly in Europe, use T-Systems' multitenant architecture to host their SAP applications. The difference is that SAP continues to keep the fee for the application separate from the fee for the infrastructure. It continues to force on its customers the cumbersome fragmentation inherent in the traditional model of business software - and the license that symbolizes and perpetuates that fragmentation.

That's not what SaaS is.

That resistance to lock-in Nick ascribes to SaaS is also what makes open source tick. Bosom buddies, SaaS and open source?

Posted by Matt Asay on December 2, 2006 01:58 AM

RATE THIS ARTICLE: