Synnex, Red Hat and Partners Launch Open Source Channel Alliance
Call it D-day for open source channel distribution. Synnex, Red Hat and nearly a dozen open source application providers — from Alfresco to Zmanda — have launched the Open Source Channel Alliance. The effort represents a tipping point for open source in the channel, reaching a potential 15,000 Synnex resellers. Here’s who’s in the Open Source Channel Alliance, who’s missing and what it all means to VARs and solutions providers.
First, the facts: The Open Source Channel Alliance includes Alfresco, EnterpriseDB, Ingres, Jaspersoft, Likewise, Pentaho, Red Hat, Synnex, Zmanda, Zenoss and Zimbra. The alliance strives to promote open source platforms and applications to roughly 15,000 VARs and solutions providers targeting mid-market customers. Impressive.
Now, a shameless plug: The alliance affirms many of the open source channel trends first identified in The VAR Guy’s Open Source 50 report, which tracks the world’s most promising open source partner programs. All of the initial Open Source Channel Alliance members, excluding Synnex (a distributor), landed in the Open Source 50.
The Big Picture
For many application providers, the Open Source Channel Alliance represents the first time they are working with a major distributor (Synnex) in North America.
For VARs, solutions providers and mid-market customers, the alliance affirms that open source in business has pushed beyond Linux to include middleware, e-mail, databases, content management, business intelligence, backup and other types of open source solutions.
The VAR Guy reached out to many of the initial Open Source Channel Alliance members to see how today’s announcement furthers each company’s partner program. Here’s a closer look at each company’s response.
The Missing Pieces
While promising, the alliance also raises multiple questions.
For starters, the alliance is missing many key open source applications providers — including MySQL, Compiere, Groundwork Open Source, Openbravo, SugarCRM and Untangle — just name a few. MySQL’s absence, in particular, is glaring since so many open source application providers and mid-market customers work closely with that open source database. The VAR Guy has reached out to MySQL for comment.
Synnex says the alliance is “expected to be open to additional open source ISVs in the future.” And Red Hat points out that the alliance is just getting started.
“MySQL is a very good partner of ours, as are the other 3500 ISVs we work with,” said Red Hat’s North American Channel Chief Roger Egan, in a phone chat with The VAR Guy. “This is just the beginning of what we’ll see [involving open source] in the channel.”
Egan says Red Hat’s channel has grown 50 percent-plus quarter over quarter. And in The Open Source 50 report (published December 2008), Red Hat reported that more than half of its revenues came from channel partners. (Here’s a podcast with Egan, in case you need to get to know him.)
Other Penguins as Partners?
Another big question mark: Is the Open Source Channel Alliance open to other Linux providers like Novell or Canonical? “That’s not our call,” says Egan, who defers to Synnex.
Clearly, The VAR Guy needs to pose the same question to Synnex. Our resident blogger is trading voicemail with the distributor. Stay tuned. But it sounds like Novell SUSE Linux, Canonical Ubuntu and other Linux distributions aren’t invited to the Open Source Channel Alliance party.
Still, Novell has distribution relationships in place and Canonical is developing a channel strategy in parallel with the forthcoming Ubuntu 9.04 release, slated for launch later this month.
The bottom line: The Open Source Channel Alliance has some holes, but the overall concept represents a tipping point for open source solutions providers targeting mid-market customers. Sure, Microsoft ISVs remain dominant in the IT channel. And they’re not going away. But open source applications have pushed beyond niche status.
And stay tuned. Related coverage today will include:
- Novell’s response
- Initial Open Source Channel Alliance members: How do they work in the channel?
- Perspectives from other distributors
- And plenty more
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Sigh, no Ubuntu? Red Hat said so itself, they don’t care about the desktop. Probably because they simply can’t compete with Ubuntu in providing such a smooth, consumer-friendly distribution at all more than the lack of a market.
Threedaysago: This is the rare case where The VAR Guy believes rising tides really will lift all boats. Even if Canonical never joins the Open Source Channel Alliance, the alliance is good news for the entire open source software industry. It affirms that open source applications — beyond base Linux servers — have gained momentum with solutions providers.
Canonical will potentially benefit as more and more VARs and customers strive to learn about open source business options. But that’s just The VAR Guy’s opinion. He’s asked Canonical for a first-hand response. Stay tuned.
It’s without a doubt a very very important move. Distribution has been a long time challenge. Equally important is to establish a strong, visible and transparent alternative to the Novell/Microsoft alliance.
I regard the Mono/.net entanglement to be a significant challenge to OpenSource/Linux. I therefore welcome any viable challenge to the perception that Linux needs to embrace .net.
Whether SUN/IBM materialises as the 3rd alternative remains to be seen.
Jacob: The VAR Guy doesn’t see this as Red Hat vs. Novell/Microsoft. The Open Source Channel Alliance is a rare example of an initiative that could raise all open source boats in the IT channel.
As mind share increases for the initial alliance members, solutions providers will take a deeper look at the larger open source market. Red Hat and its ISVs initially are the big winners. But the broader open source industry will benefit.
Still, there are some risks. Those open source ISVs need to be real businesses with proven models for success. If any of the ISVs implode, it could prompt some VARs to lose faith in the overall open source market.
Good job pointing out who’s missing from OSCA. How can you line up ISV partners without having MySQL at the party??? And where are all the CRM providers??? OSCA is nice idea but I want to see who joins within the next few months,
I think that most of all Red Hat points in market segments that do pay out their bills. They said we target the enterprise market and specifically the server side. They put their efforts, their results are obvious to all of us. Even though they know that the desktop will give them charm etc, they have not found the efficient model to make out money. The masses have not the full knowledge to go ahead next day.
On the other hand, Fedora 10 or even 11 Beta are excellent semi mature desktop alternatives. Ubuntu or OpenSuse are no better than that. So when the time comes, they will be ready. Desktop is not profitable market yet for them. Canonical has not made so much money after all. (or shall I say practically nothing). They follow RH’s strategy the days before Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Let’s hope for the best for us as consumers and Openness lovers
Speaking of Mysql…
You’ll notice that one of the specific Zmanda solutions being offered in the distribution channel is ZRM:
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock News/2276414/
“Zmanda Recovery Manager (ZRM) is a solution used to automate backup and recovery of MySQL databases.”
Isn’t that interesting that Zmanda felt comfortable putting ZRM in the distribution channel even though MySQL wasn’t there too? I hope MySQL comments at some point on the OSCA effort.
It will be interesting to see if the OSCA membership grows along the the same lines as rhx in the near term or if its initially attractive to a different subset of ISVs in the existing ISV catalog that Red Hat has compiled:
https://www.redhat.com/wapps/isvcatalog/browse.html?action=companyName
Remember that rhx launched with a dozen founding members:
http://www.redhat.com/rhx/
but over time that membership increased to 17 companies:
https://www.redhat.com/wapps/isvcatalog/search.html?action=rhx
careful how you count that list some companies are counted more than once with different product offerings.
There’s clearly already a close affinity between the rhx partner list and the founding osca list… but it might be fun for the Var Guy to dial up the entire list of existing rhx partners and get each of their reactions. Then if that was too boring, do some deep diving into that red hat isv catalog and asking some of the non-rhx partners in the catalog to comment as well. Or better yet, come back to this in a few months and do a compare and contrast the rhx experience and OSCA experience from an ISV point of view by doing a more indepth sit down with rhx partners turned osca members.
-jef
Jef: Fantastic ideas all around. The VAR Guy plans to keep close tabs on the Open Source Channel Alliance. And yes, comparing that alliance to the evolution of Red Hat Exchange (RHX) is worthwhile.
In addition to MySQL, our resident blogger can’t understand why SugarCRM and Compiere skipped the OSCA launch party… …
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Great Job