CES 2013

xtuple

Open-source companies log impressive growth in Q2 2009

In May, I reported on the rising fortunes of Funambol, Mozilla, and other open-source companies. Signs of "green shoots" notwithstanding, the economy doesn't seem to be getting any better, but open-source companies continue to log impressive growth as open source pervades the enterprise, as Forrester analyst Jeffrey Hammond (@jhammond) recently noted.

Importantly, according to Hammond, while open source starts as a cost-saving exercise, it often morphs into something far more strategic:

[O]rganizations tend to start [with the goal of saving money with open source]. And then what tends to happen is the more that they become … Read more

OpenMFG transforms into xTuple, but misses the open-source train

OpenMFG just took one step forward, and two steps backward. First, the positive. The company, which provides ERP and CRM solutions for small to medium-sized enterprises, has rebranded itself as xTuple. It has also developed PostBooks, a QuickBooks competitor.

Good stuff. We need more software like this. What we don't need, however, is xTuple's flawed licensing scheme that feints at open source, but falls far short.

xTuple's license is a mess, on two primary accounts:… Read more