Open Source Experts
ConnectingBlox has experience working with a vast array of open source projects addressing many common business needs: office & produtivity, e-mail/messaging/collaboration, accounting, ERP, CRM, human resources, project management and many more. We don't just suggest open source products to our customers - we use them ourselves and our developers are active contributors to many open source projects. Open source in the enterprise is something to which ConnectingBlox is fully committed. We can help select, implement, integrate, extend and support open source projects.

Although nearly 66% of companies consider open source in their software searches, more than half of them cite a lack of understanding of the open source model as the main reason for selecting less capable proprietary software.
Enterprise Ready
Open source has always had the advantage of being more adaptable to the specific needs of an enterprise. With corporate contributions to open source projects on the rise, quality and security now meets or exceeds that of established proprietary softwares. The result is an open source landscape in which smaller organizations can obtain capabilities previously well out of their reach.
The Open Source Skillset
ConnectingBlox helps our customers navigate open source options. Proper use of open source can provide great benefits to most companies, but it also shouldn't be taken lightly. Open source projects require a different skillset than traditional software.
- Licenses
- Open source projects can fall under a number of license models and each has its own rules for how you can use or modify the code. Understanding those license models is very important to success in open source.
- Code Control
- Without strong code control procedures, an open source project can quickly deteriorate. Code control ensures that only tested and approved code enters production.
- Security
- Open source projects today have inherently strong security. But with many contributors around the world, it still requires a watchful eye to make sure no malicious code gets introduced.
What is Commercial Open Source?
Commercial Open Source is a simple concept - a brick-and-mortar company offers support and training for an open source software product. Often the company will charge for their services on a subscription model or offer cloud based version of their products. Commercial open source removes the burden of managing the various open source packages that typically make up a complete open source platform. Unlike proprietary software vendors, however, commercial open source products can survive if the supporting company doesn't. This model provides the benefits of commercially supported software without the pitfalls of vendor lock-in.
ConnectingBlox works with many commercial open source vendors to offer our customers the best products with established quality and long term support. Our relationships to these companies and their projects enable ConnectingBlox to customize software to your exact requirements while maintaining the integrity and supportability of the original product.

Beware of "freemiums". A number of commercial products call themselves open source but in reality they offer a base product in open source form but charge for enterprise or "premium" features which are often closed source.
Ever Expanding Choices
Open source software is certainly nothing new. The vast majority of the Internet is powered by Linux operating systems, Apache is the world's most popular web server and more databases are built using MySQL than any other database engine. But the shift to cloud computing and the drive of enterprises to implement more agile systems has pushed open source into nearly every corner of business computing. Regardless of your industry or software need, there is likely to be an open source platform that should be included in your evaluation plans.
Whatever your needs, ConnectingBlox can help make open source a part of your environment. We currently have support for hundreds of open source projects representing a broad range of services:
- CRM
- ERP
- Email & Messaging
- Social Networking
- Professional Service Automation
- Manufacturing Execution Systems
- Security
- Database Management/Big Data
- Business Process Management
- EDI
- Laboratory Management
- Logistics
- Property Management
- Accounting
- Point of Sale
- Collaboration
- Enterprise Content Management
- CAD
- Asset Management
- Statistical Processing
- Human Resources
- Digital Signage
- Student Information Management
- Event Planning/Management
- Warehouse Management Systems
- Machine-to-Machine (Internet of Things)
- Fund Accounting
- Doner Management
- Project Management
- Document Management
- PDM/PLM
- Retail Planning
- Business Intelligence
- Time & Attendance
- eCommerce
- Learning Management
- Electronic Medical Records
Corporate Impact
While major corporations have long embraced open source, smaller companies have been slower to adopt the model as they typically lack the resources to fully utilize open source projects. Organizations like ConnectingBlox are now stepping in to bridge the gap. An unintended consequence of this "trickle down" process has been a flow of knowledge - concepts born in the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies are being developed into open source software and adapted to the needs of smaller businesses.
Engaging an open source expert such as ConnectingBlox can help your company take advantage of this knowledge flow and capture new opportunities. We can show you how to make open source work for your business.