Custom Licenses Arent Open

Source"> Others in the community say that, as SugarCRM has modified the MPL for its own purposes and has not submitted it to the Open Source Initiative for approval, it is not an accepted open-source license. In fact some, like Peter Yared, the CEO of ActiveGrid in San Francisco, said they believe that such custom open-source licenses are in the interests of the publishers rather than their communities.
"What we need are [fewer] licenses, not more, and we definitely dont need open-source licenses with company names in them," he told eWEEK. Bill Hilf, Microsofts director of platform technology strategy, told eWEEK that Microsoft and SugarCRM have also entered into a technical collaboration agreement that is designed to enhance interoperability between the Windows Server platform and the SugarCRM line of products. This would focus on improved SugarCRM support for IIS (Internet Information Services) and optimization for Active Directory and Microsoft SQL Server, including SQL Express, SQL Server Workgroup and SQL Server Enterprise Edition, Hilf said. "Some 35 percent of SugarCRMs customers are on Windows Server already, so finding a way to work together that serves them best was our target for this. It does not change any of plans for Microsoft Dynamics CRM," Hilf said. Some of those mutual customers are eager for greater interoperability between the two companies, he said. David Schmidgall, an IT manager for Superior Industries, a manufacturer of conveying systems and components based in Morris, Minn., agreed, saying that the company, which has been running its business on Microsoft and Sugar Professional for some time, expects this collaboration to improve its back-end database integration and streamline its system administration. JBoss Connolly said he is not hearing requests for a distribution designed for mutual customers and which uses a Shared Source license. But, that being said, "Microsoft has absolutely become more open to blending the value of open source into its broader strategy. In its relationship with JBoss, Microsoft has been supportive of our licensing strategy and choice of licenses," he said. Check out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, reviews and analysis about customer relationship management solutions.