Life got a little easier last week for organizations looking for fully supported open source software solutions, with the announcement of a partnership between OpenLogic and MuleSoft to deliver the latter’s Tcat product (the server, not the bus system in upstate New York). Here are the details, and what they mean for the open source channel.

OpenLogic and MuleSoft both present excellent examples of the how VARs can leverage open source by repackaging third-party solutions with the professional support services that most serious businesses require, but which many independent open source developers are unable to provide themselves. These companies make non-proprietary choices a realistic option for organizations that don’t have the time or resources to make sure code available under licenses that explicitly decline any implication of warranty actually works as advertised.

To that end, the mission of OpenLogic, in its own words, is to “help enterprises successfully and securely use open source software with open source support on 500+ packages.” MuleSoft is engaged in a similar pursuit, with a specific focus on the Tomcat Server from the Apache project.

Partnership

The partnership, announced March 24, 2011, has OpenLogic reselling the Tcat Server, MuleSoft’s main product. Based on the open source Tomcat Server, Tcat is designed as a hassle-free solution for migrating from legacy platforms such as Oracle WebLogic or IBM WebSphere.

Tcat is also completely compatible with the upstream Tomcat code — certainly a plus for customers interested in avoiding vendor lock-in and a sine qua none in the open source channel.

While OpenLogic will sell the Tcat product, the two companies will share responsibilities providing support for the Tcat server, according to the terms of the partnership.

Why It Matters

In my own anecdotal experience in the IT world, most people making purchasing decisions — and particularly those without special technical qualifications — love hearing about the flexibility and cost-savings open source solutions tend to provide. The smiles disappear from their faces, however, when they’re told the open source projects in which they’re interested have no official support numbers to call. IT people themselves might be comfortable with the community-based support channels on which the open source world has traditionally relied, but administrators who need to ensure business continuity take little comfort in the existence of mailing lists or support forums.

There’s good reason for that: Beyond the what-if-it-breaks-and-we-can’t-fix-it issue, most organizations these days are held to strict compliance policies that make reliable support a top priority.

By offering accessible and hassle-free support for open source code, therefore, vendors such as OpenLogic and MuleSoft fill an important gap inside the open source channel that separates geeky developers from stability-minded businesspeople. There’s still a lot of potential to be tapped in this segment of the open source world, and we’ll keep our eyes on it going forward.

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