SocialText Open: Protecting its On Demand Service with Open Source
July 25, 2006
A week ago when ActiveCollab got dugg, I posted that Jason Freid and the 37Signals boys should release an open version BaseCamp to keep hosted ActiveCollabs out of their market. They didn’t. But today Ross Mayfield and SocialText have done just that - released an Open Source version of their popular wiki collaboration software. As I’ve said before, this is a smart move for any any SaaS company whose product is built on tools that small development teams or enthusiastic do-gooding programmers can effectively mimic. Here’s two reasons why:
- It creates a pipeline of open-to-paid converts that would otherwise just walk away. What do you think big company developers do all day? They download trial and open source versions of things they feel may have value. SugarCRM knows this well. When they need real support and SLA’s, and are ready to give up the headaches of managing their own install -they become paying customers.
- It protects their SaaS market. If someone were to release an open source mimic of SocialText (which isn’t that unlikely, look what ActiveCollab just did to basecamp), the window would be open for others to compete directly with SocialText at reduced cost by providing the OS clone as a hosted service. By releasing as OS version, the effectively close that door - who would take and use a mimic OS version when you can download the real deal?
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“look what ActiveCollab just did to basecamp” Huh? What did they “just do” ? There are already lots of open source project management tools. They just entered a crowded market, that’s about all they “did.”
Comment by BryanJ — July 25, 2006 @ 4:02 pm
They’ve entered the market with a tool that looks, feels, and smells just like Basecamp (I know, minus a few bells and whistles). I’m not saying ActiveCollab will unseat anybody, but if you were going to be evaluating simplicity focused project management tools, ActiveCollab now becomes a real option - and what’s more, it’s a real option for a clever entrepeneur to turn around and create the Bryght.com of Project Tools.
The one counterargument to my mine that I could swallow, however, is if you told me that Basecamp already has an open API, and they give away a single (albeit cripled) space for free within their hosted service - which in some ways creates the same barrier to OS mimicry as giving away an installable instance. But you didn’t say that :-)
Comment by Kurt — July 25, 2006 @ 4:11 pm