Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Servers

    Netline Groupware for Linux Goes Open Source

    By
    Peter Galli
    -
    August 2, 2004
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Netline Internet Service GmbH, of Olpe, Germany, will announce at LinuxWorld this week that it is open-sourcing its Open-Xchange Server, the core technology behind its Linux-based groupware, collaboration and messaging application, under the GNU General Public License.

      That move will let customers and partners download the code for free and contribute to the project.

      Open-Xchange Server, which is also the engine behind Novell Inc.s SuSE Linux Openexchange Server, is a modular, standards-based communications tool featuring a Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning interface that speeds information flow between workstations and the server.

      CEO Frank Hoberg said in an interview from Germany that Netlines customers have been calling for an alternative to Microsoft Corp.s Exchange since 2000, when development on Open-Xchange began.

      “It was then launched in 2002 with SuSE Linux. Making the source code available under the GPL was clearly the most logical next step in its evolution,” Hoberg said. “We own all the intellectual property for the server and have until now had a traditional per-seat licensing and revenue model.”

      Some in the open-source community are indifferent about the move. Matthew Rice, a partner at Starnix Inc., of Thornhill, Ontario, said the open-sourcing of Open-Xchange Server “makes little difference.

      “I will probably have to look at it someday, but it looks like they want to copy the Skyrix [Software AG] play [Skyrix open-sourced its Groupware Server and formed the OpenGroupware.org project], which seems to have worked out very well for them. I guess that theyre hoping that lightning will strike twice in Germany,” Rice said.

      “Netline runs the risk of becoming an also-ran in the open-source-software mind space. They are going to have to do something big to reach people,” Rice said.

      Linux vendors such as Novell and Hewlett-Packard Co. disagree.

      Officials in Novells Nterprise platform services group, in Provo, Utah, said the GPL release of Open-Xchange is good for both customers and developers. Novell recognized the value of open source in the rapid development of software and its responsiveness to users needs, the officials said.

      Martin Fink, vice president of Linux at HP, in Palo Alto, Calif., said that an increasing number of customers are looking to implement both open-source and proprietary software within their IT infrastructures. “Netlines Open-Xchange Server helps address this need,” Fink said.

      The open-source version of Open-Xchange Server will be available free at Open-Xchange.org and openexchange.com by the end of the month. It will feature most of the code for the commercial product, which runs on major Linux operating systems, including those from Novells SuSE Linux, Red Hat Inc., Red Flag Software Co. Ltd. and Debian.

      Check out eWEEK.coms Linux & Open Source Center at http://linux.eweek.com for the latest open-source news, reviews and analysis.

      Be sure to add our eWEEK.com Linux news feed to your RSS newsreader or My Yahoo page

      Peter Galli
      Peter Galli has been a financial/technology reporter for 12 years at leading publications in South Africa, the UK and the US. He has been Investment Editor of South Africa's Business Day Newspaper, the sister publication of the Financial Times of London.He was also Group Financial Communications Manager for First National Bank, the second largest banking group in South Africa before moving on to become Executive News Editor of Business Report, the largest daily financial newspaper in South Africa, owned by the global Independent Newspapers group.He was responsible for a national reporting team of 20 based in four bureaus. He also edited and contributed to its weekly technology page, and launched a financial and technology radio service supplying daily news bulletins to the national broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation, which were then distributed to some 50 radio stations across the country.He was then transferred to San Francisco as Business Report's U.S. Correspondent to cover Silicon Valley, trade and finance between the US, Europe and emerging markets like South Africa. After serving that role for more than two years, he joined eWeek as a Senior Editor, covering software platforms in August 2000.He has comprehensively covered Microsoft and its Windows and .Net platforms, as well as the many legal challenges it has faced. He has also focused on Sun Microsystems and its Solaris operating environment, Java and Unix offerings. He covers developments in the open source community, particularly around the Linux kernel and the effects it will have on the enterprise.He has written extensively about new products for the Linux and Unix platforms, the development of open standards and critically looked at the potential Linux has to offer an alternative operating system and platform to Windows, .Net and Unix-based solutions like Solaris.His interviews with senior industry executives include Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Linus Torvalds, the original developer of the Linux operating system, Sun CEO Scot McNealy, and Bill Zeitler, a senior vice president at IBM.For numerous examples of his writing you can search under his name at the eWEEK Website at www.eweek.com.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×