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 Channel Futures

Open Source


Open Source Arrives At Small Business Conference

  • Written by The VAR Guy 1
  • May 1, 2009
The VAR Guy is hanging out today at SMB Nation, a conference for small business VARs -- most of whom work with Microsoft.

smbnationThe VAR Guy is hanging out today at SMB Nation, a conference for small business VARs — most of whom work with Microsoft. Still, open source companies like Untangle and xTuple have quietly found a home at the conference. Here’s the scoop.

First, to be crystal clear: From Small Business Server to Exchange Server to Windows management products, Microsoft-centric discussions are ubiquitous at SMB Nation. But a small contingent of open source-savvy folks are here. And they’re generating some buzz.

Untangle is making the rounds talking about the company’s open source security gateway — which has gained traction with OEMs and managed service providers over the past year. And Danielle Kerner, director xTuple’s partner program, has also surfaced at the conference. Both companies landed on The VAR Guy’s Open Source 50 report, which tracks the most promising open source partner programs.

Open Source ERP

Kerner’s attendence for xTuple is particularly interesting. xTuple specializes in open source ERP for Mac, Linux and Windows systems. During a quick chat at the show, Kerner mentioned that xTuple’s typical customer deployments involve 15 to 100 seats. And most of xTuple’s initial partners are small VARs that apparently have five or fewer employees.

Translation: xTuple may be perfectly positioned to target the Microsoft Small Business Server crowd, which attends SMB Nation in full force.

On the one hand, The VAR Guy wonders: Why aren’t more open source-centric companies attending SMB Nation? Surely, up-and-comers like Canonical and Digium need to be in front of small business VARs.

But on the other hand, our resident blogger concedes: A lot of Small Business Server VARs are perfectly happy working with Microsoft; and those folks may not be ready — or interested — in open source alternatives… at least not yet.

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Tags: Cloud Service Providers Digital Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Channel Programs Open Source

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8 comments

  1. Avatar Frank Daley May 3, 2009 @ 2:07 am
    Reply

    “A lot of Small Business Server VARs are perfectly happy working with Microsoft; and those folks may not be ready — or interested — in open source alternatives… at least not yet.”

    Nor were General Motors and Chrysler sufficiently interested in changing their organizations strategies and cultures at the pace needed to save themselves.

    Neither will any Small Business Server VARs who watch from the side-lines. They will go the way of the dinosaurs and be replaced by Small Business Server VARs who make the effort to grasp the opportunities that open source alternatives provide to slash the Total Cost of Ownership for their clients.

    Thinking that Microsoft has all the answers is a recipe for organizational extinction.

  2. Avatar Rich on Linux and FOSS! raquo; Blog Archive raquo; thevarguy May 3, 2009 @ 3:26 am
    Reply

    […] Full post here! […]

  3. Avatar The VAR Guy May 3, 2009 @ 12:21 pm
    Reply

    Frank: The VAR Guy sees lots of promise for open source in small biz. But Microsoft Small Business Server is a pretty darn good product that Novell, Red Hat, Canonical and others have really yet to counter… …

    The VAR Guy will watch this market closely, though. And he wonders: Have you found a solid, integrated open source alternative to SBS?

    Thanks for reading The VAR Guy.

  4. Avatar Open Source Arrives At Small Business Conference : OS-ING May 3, 2009 @ 6:24 pm
    Reply

    […] The VAR Guy is hanging out today at SMB Nation, a conference for small business VARs — most of whom work with Microsoft. Still, open source companies like Untangle and xTuple have quietly found a home at the conference. Here’s the scoop. […]

  5. Avatar Frank Daley May 5, 2009 @ 8:16 am
    Reply

    @VAR Guy

    I believe the opportunity is in Small Business solutions tailored for specific vertical markets, e.g. printing companies, small manufacturers, design shops, etc.

    All the standard functions of Microsoft Small Business Server are easy to match with open source equivalents. The big opportunity for open source is to customize an Open Source ERP package to meet the needs of a specific vertical that extends way beyond what Microsoft SBS provides.

    Becoming an expert in a particular vertical using open source will allow VARs to be in control of the margins rather than Microsoft.

  6. Avatar Mark Hutchinson May 12, 2009 @ 8:04 am
    Reply

    As a company we already provide a linux/open source alternative to Microsoft’s Small Business Server (see http://www.sharptechnology.co.uk).

    Initially we started by selling directly to end user organisations and over the last have slowly begun to work with a range of VAR’s.

    At a technical level, were able to provide an offering that is more comprehensive than Microsoft’s, is more reliable, required less downtime and is at a considerably lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)

    Our customers typically pay £750 Set up (hardware + software + installation) vs £3,000 for MS SBS (again inc hardware + software + installation) and ongoing monthly support is approx 25% cheaper for a fully managed 24×7 service.

    Our open source approach enables us, and our partners to win a higher percentage of deals, pick up some of the smaller opportunities that other wise wouldn’t have moved forward, lower our resource needs, provide a more proactive service.

    Also by using the Linux platform we are ideally positioned to roll out any other open source or commercial open source application’s (usually as a managed service) such as CRM, ERP, Accounts, CMS etc.

    By delivering a managed service also helps lock customers in to the VAR as they don’t have the ability to switch to A.N Other VAR for support which helps build revenue/margin streams faster.

    Whilst some VAR’s feel that they may not be ready for open source solutions this is likely to lead to them coming under a great deal of competitive pressure as their customers are likely to be wanting many of the benefits of this approach.

  7. Avatar Josh May 13, 2009 @ 1:08 pm
    Reply

    Frank,

    This is largely a tactical and chicken-and-egg problem. Most of the small business VAR’s I’ve spoken with have a few problems with pushing a Linux solution:

    1. Lack of people-power, Type 1. Especially in this economy, when they might only be able to afford having one employee, there is simply not enough time to learn Linux to an extent that they are comfortable supporting it.

    2. Lack of people-power, Type 2. There aren’t many VAR’s at all that know about Linux. Many small VAR’s are afraid that if they are hit by a bus (or want to go on vacation), there is nobody around to service their clients because nobody else knows Linux.

    3. Comfort and hubris. Many VAR’s just want to make a buck – they’d rather support the existence of their “kill viruses” broken-window type economy instead of creating new economic value. Microsoft allows them to do this.

    I have ideas on how to combat this, but I’m a guy with a stable and fulfilling day job that I don’t dare quit…

    Cheers,
    -Josh

  8. Avatar The VAR Guy May 13, 2009 @ 7:35 pm
    Reply

    Josh: No doubt, MSFT remains the dominant channel brand. And Microsoft has earned the respect of many resellers thanks to a strong partner-centric business model.

    That said, The VAR Guy thinks you may be slightly underestimating the Linux channel. Red Hat has certified more than 40,000 pros on Linux. Canonical has launched server training in education centers. Novell is launching a road show for partners and customers.

    More work needs to be done. But if VARs would open their eyes and ears and actually ask neighboring VARs whether they have Linux expertise, the answer might surprise readers…

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