Enterprise Software - Open Source, SaaS etc.

XML UI toolkits

Java based XML UI toolkits :

http://java-source.net/open-source/xml-user-interface-toolkits

Also, good resource for Java based open source tools.

Software Components

OFBiz framework :
http://www.ofbiz.org/

Objectweb middleware
http://www.objectweb.org/

BPEL engine :
http://www.activebpel.org/

Listing of Java based workflow engines :
http://www.manageability.org/blog/stuff/workflow_in_java/view

Listing of Java based rules engines :
http://www.manageability.org/blog/stuff/rule_engines/view

Listing of Java-based document repositories http://www.manageability.org/blog/stuff/open-source-document-repository

Flash UI:
http://www.laszlosystems.com/products/

Image library
http://freeimage.sourceforge.net/index.html

Mobile apps framework
http://sync4j.funambol.com/main.jsp?main=overview

Apache stack
http://www.gluecode.com/website/index.jsp

Software Indemnification

http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;49273112;fp;4;fpid;1968336438

Software indemnification or an insurance policy against potential lawsuits for copywrite infringement is a hot issue among customers and vendors planning to leverage open source products. Here's a sampling of indemnification plans provided by vendors :

Novell offers SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 customers protection against copyright-infringement claims only. The protection is also capped and tied to restrictions such as the requirement to purchase a maintenance contract. Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) offers indemnification for Linux products it sells, but only against SCO claims, and the buyer must sign a support contract and use HP hardware.. Red Hat does not indemnify customers, but promises to replace Enterprise Linux code for users if a court were to find that the product infringes a copyright. IBM does not indemnify the Novell and Red Hat Linux products it sells.

VCs hope to leverage Linux

http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/39297.html

"Open source is definitely a hot topic with the venture capital community, there's no question about that" John Rymer, vice-president of research at Forrester Research, told LinuxInsider.

Open source is becoming more attractive as an investment as venture capitalists come to understand and think of such opportunities as more mainstream, said Itsy Ahmed, a vice president at Oak Investment Partners.

Rymer added that "the move toward open source is virtually irreversible ... and heating up," and he predicts that 2005 will see a number of new start-ups based on open source. "I talked to someone recently who was entertaining three different offers to be a CEO of open-source companies," Rymer said.

The Lifecycle of Software Technology

Good article on evolution of software technologies by Craig A. James.

Link to site

 

New order in enterprise SW

As enterprise software reaches maturation phase, Open source infrastructure and applications have the opportunity to fundamentally change the software industry as we know it today.

It  is the transition from :
a) proprietary to open systems
b) passive consumer to active collaborator
c) software provider to a service provider
... that changes the game.

Will any of the current leaders like Microsoft, SAP, Oracle etc. enable this transition to happen or will new leaders emerge who will help define the new software industry by 2010 ?

Beginnings of this radical shift is already take shape at the infrastructure level with productions like Linux, Apache, JBoss, MySQL etc.   Applications such as Compiere(ERP), SugarCRM(CRM) and many others are blazing a new trail of providing low upfront cost apps that provide business value immediately.

New business models are being created, development to delivery of software is being redefined, services excellence is becoming a key differentiator and customers are paying for realized business value not just visions and road-maps

It is a great time to be starting a new software business to exploit this new wave and build a next-generation leader.