The Best of Both Worlds
When combining the terms Enterprise and Open Source, some people might argue that these terms do not go together, that they are even contradictory.
Enterprise is a word widely used by software companies to describe high-quality product and service offers. By using this term, they imply that they deliver robust software and provide excellent services to enterprise customers. Quite the opposite, some people think of Open Source software as a software of lower quality compared to enterprise software.
This false perception is grounded in a wrong understanding of the word free in Free Software: Open Source rejecters think that software you can get for free is not worth anything. They do not understand that it is more about the freedom you enjoy while making use of the software, instead of the no-cost argument when obtaining it.
As all Free Software fans know, there are strong arguments against this and there are many examples of excellent Open Source software projects. Thus, the Open Source approach can very well be combined with the expectations coming from enterprise customers. By taking the best of both worlds, the Enterprise and Open Source approach, eZ systems has established a viable and successful business.
Freedom and Responsibility
The power of Enterprise Open Source originates from the combination of freedom and responsibility.
The customers of eZ systems enjoy the freedom they have to either help themselves or be free to ask anyone else for help. This freedom is only possible because they have free access to the source code.
Our customers also enjoy the responsibility that eZ systems takes, being a reliable partner for anyone who needs assistance during any phase of a project. This kind of reliability is mainly possible because eZ systems is a company, ready to deliver when being paid.
At eZ systems, we have adopted the term Enterprise to both our business model as well as our products. Let's take a look at both aspects now.
Enterprise Open Source is the business model of eZ Systems, meaning that we do business in the realm of freedom and responsibility. While our products are Open Source licensed, eZ Systems is still a company with a professionally hired crew. Thus, just like any other company, we deliver if you pay us and we need to make money to pay our crew and bills.
Experiences since 1999
Since 1999, eZ Systems has been creating Open Source software and serves its customers. During that time, we have first of all experienced the benefits of Open Source when it comes to efficient product development and distribution. We acknowledge that our software would not have been as good as it is today without the help of an active community and the Open Source development model.
Our global leading market position can also partially be credited to the distribution effect which is possible with Open Source software and the Internet.
We have also experienced that there are many people around the world who demand the freedom of Open Source, have the competence to help themselves, and are happy to share with others. These people are the peers of our community, and the basis of any Open Source software model.
From Early Adopters to Mainstream
As the acceptance of our product grew from early adaptors and innovators into the mainstream market, we realized that very many of the new customers neither have the dedicated internal resources, nor the wish to do everything themselves. They want a reliable partner making sure that they get a solution solving their problems and meeting their demands throughout the entire project life cycle, from implementation to assurance and guarantees.
This leads us to the term Enterprise Open Source: By combining the full freedom of Open Source software with the responsibility of a company, we are able to both
- give the users the full freedom of Open Source software
- be the responsible party providing enterprises with a full set of services and guarantees
This makes it possible for us to benefit from the open development processes as well as open software distribution, and at the same time have a scalable business.
By now you have seen how Enterprise Open Source describes the way we do business, so how is it being applied to our products, for example eZ Publish?
With eZ Publish being one of the leading Enterprise Content Management Systems, does this imply that it is only suited for the Global Fortune 500 companies? Furthermore, does that mean that eZ Publish is capable of doing everything that products of vendors like Vignette, OpenText, and Documentum can do? Does that make eZ Publish complex and heavy, not suited for simpler CMS solutions? Let me answer these questions now.
Software is More Than Code
First, by using the term Enterprise for eZ Publish, we use it both to describe the software, but also to describe how it is being delivered, reflecting our business model. We are a commercial company taking on full responsibility for the software and providing all the support and guarantees enterprise customers require and expect from an enterprise software vendor. To put it simple: a software product is more than the code, it is the whole package solving the needs of the customers.
Freedom and Flexibility
Secondly, the term Enterprise also tells something about software features and capabilities. Yes, I do admit that eZ Publish cannot directly be compared with the complete product offerings from some of the leading Enterprise Content Management vendors. The reason is: Enterprise Content Management includes a wide range of software. While eZ Publish is fully capable of challenging these systems in many fields (for example Web Content Management), it is not a full suite for complete Enterprise Content Management.
This positions eZ Publish rather towards the leading Enterprise Web Content Management Systems with strong capabilities when it comes to mainstream functionality, plus a flexible platform allowing others to deliver complementary features and solutions on top of it. The official eZ partners, the eZ community and the users themselves do a great job adding the remaining features, which they either sell or share with the community.
The Open Source eZ publish has overtaken many proprietary Enterprise Content Management Systems when it comes to general mainstream functionality.
Features for vertical markets are being added over time by eZ Systems, the eZ partner companies and the eZ community.
Open Source Ready for the Enterprise
So what is the main differentiation statement for eZ Publish then? Of course, we can discuss features and technologies and tell about
But the most important differentiation factor is what we call Enterprise Open Source: This gives both the users the freedom of choice and at the same time the backing of a responsible party providing a full set of guarantees and services.
This combination is what makes Open Source ready for enterprise users!
Enterprise Quality for Smaller Projects
If you want to use eZ Publish in small or medium size projects, you now probably think that it is oversized for your needs - but that is not true. Even though the main focus of eZ Publish is a higher market segment, it is of great use for lower segments.
Why? Let me use cars to explain it in a simple way: eZ systems does not manufacture a kind of Formula 1 car that only 20 people in the world can master. We rather produce a very good upper middle class car, like a BMW or Mercedes, that anybody can handle.
The good thing about our upper middle class car is that it is available as Open Source, making it accessible to a part of the market that normally cannot afford to drive such cars.
Enterprise Open Source is about the combination of freedom and responsibility. This combination attracts more and more customers because they value that they are free to choose and once they have chosen, they are not left alone. This applies to our business model as well as our products.
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