DataSync Business News

DataSync is proud to announce the beta release of Zimgar - the SugarCRM/Zimbra extension for DataSync Suite. The first version of the Zimgar plugin for DataSync Suite includes a full featured email archiving system. “One-click-archive” is included in this release, which allows users to archive an email to a SugarCRM contact with a single click, a vast improvement over current archiving methods.

The Zimgar extension is a part of the release of DataSync Suite 0.5, which includes a significant architecture overhaul. The upcoming version of DataSync Suite includes the first revision of our core services module, and improvements to the portal interface. For more information on DataSync Suite, check out the product and community sections of our website.

Sioux Falls, SD (July 21, 2008) - DataSync, the development company behind the popular open source integration package DataSync Suite, is proud to annouce the release of DataSync Suite 0.5 beta. Praised by pre-beta testers, DataSync Suite is positioned for explosive growth. DataSync Suite 0.5 features Zimbra/SugarCRM integration, which allows users to archive email from Zimbra directly into SugarCRM using an intuitive AJAX interface. DataSync Suite 0.5 also adds effective administration tools that give admins the ability to add/remove users from all applications with a single operation. Updated documentation is available on the DataSync wiki.

DataSync Suite is based on Web 2.0 open source technology and heavily utilizes Zope 3 for its application framework. DataSync has recently released an aggressive development roadmap for the continued growth of their flagship product.

“We are committed to developing a robust, flexible web-based open source suite that allows any business to take advantage of open software” says Mike Vetter, founder and CEO of DataSync.

DataSync Suite is available for download or on DataSync’s acclaimed on-demand hosting architecture. DataSync expects the production release of DataSync Suite 0.5 by the end of July.

About DataSync

DataSync is the company behind DataSync Suite, a popular open source integration platform. DataSync Suite delivers best of breed open source software as a single web-based platform. DataSync Suite includes a single-signon portal, a core services component for efficient data syncronization and feature addons, and a robust administration console for users and system administrators. DataSync continues to develop application connectors for popular open source applications like Zimbra, SugarCRM, Alfresco, and Joomla. DataSync plans to release the full 1.0 package in early 2009.

For more information call 605-275-4100, email info@datasyncsuite.com, or visit http://datasyncsuite.com.

DataSync is proud to announce DataSync Suite 0.5 is set for beta release at the end of July. DataSync Suite is an open source software platform designed to deliver best of breed open source tools as a single online experience. DataSync has been working hard on upgrading the overall architecture while adding useful features.

The upcoming version of DataSync Suite includes a number of upgrades and features:

• Improved portal interface
• SugarCRM/Zimbra integration (email archiving)
• Support for Zimbra 5.0.7
• Significant architecture upgrades
• Zope application server
• Improved administration tools
• Updated documentation

The overall push of this release is to improve the core architecture. Production release on DataSync On-Demand is scheduled for August 2008.

If you are interested in becoming a part of the DataSync Suite community, sign up for our email list to recieve product updates.

Scott Dietzen from Zimbra has an interesting post about SaaS and Open Source merging. We’ve been watching this evolution closely, as we’re big believers in the fact that open source should be delivered as SaaS. The lower TCO of open source combined with the low upfront cost of SaaS provides an unbeatable value to the end user:

“Open source leads to better software, better through community innovation and hardening. And open source affords better long-term investment protection for both SaaS and “on premises” solutions. While SaaS allows organizations to ramp up new software with minimal investment, open source means they could always bring it in house later or move to an alternative provider (or at least have the negotiating leverage for doing the same).”

DataSync already delivers on-demand Zimbra solutions to top-tier clients around the globe. We’re unique in the fact that we’re delivering multiple applications on-demand, and integrating them into a single unified application - DataSync Suite. The next version of our product is scheduled for release later this month, and we’re excited to continue to contribute to the open source ecosystem.

According to Net Appliances, Mac is hitting another major benchmark with 8% market share. That’s not surprising, what is surprising is that it’s growing at 3.5 times faster rate than Windows. Has the tipping point arrived? That’s tough to say, as we’re still in the single digit territory.

For those of you who don’t know, most of us at DataSync run Mac hardware. Our developers run Linux because of the depth of the tools they use, but the rest of us mere mortals stick to Macs. Because we develop web-based applications, we’re platform independent. Apple has done a great job creating a hardware/software ecosystem that just works. Security has been solid, tech support is responsive, and we just like the platform. No viruses, software that works, and they just plain look cool.

Another great fact is that Zimbra has a great iSync connector that sucks all your data right onto your Mac. Because we support this feature, we get a lot of other Mac users on our Zimbra hosting offering. If you’re a Mac user, you’ll love Zimbra.

Overall we’re excited to see the Mac platform continue to progress. We’re also big Linux desktop fans, and we’re hoping that Gnome and KDE continue to make inroads on the corporate and personal desktop. Both options provide a great user experience without all the gotchas of Vista.

In my endless search of the web for trends, I found an interesting article about the status of open source and SaaS with some research thrown in by Gartner. We already know from experience that open source and SaaS (Software as a Service) make a great combination, but this article really illustrates the scale. First, open source is getting a lot of traction in SaaS organizations. What’s interesting is that the most important development is value added services on top of open source:

“By 2012, more than 90 percent of enterprises will use open source either directly or as embedded components. The Gartner team believes vendors will use open source code synergistically but direct their primary engineering efforts on what is described as “true value-added features and functionality above the ‘commoditized’ layer of open source software.”

This is closely in line with what we’re doing at DataSync. Open source itself can be difficult and expensive for traditional IT departments to support. However packaging open source into streamlined SaaS environments just makes sense. It eliminates the variables associated with deploying open source on site, and allows just about anyone to take advantage of open source. We’re finding that although open source is great, it needs to be delivered smoothly to be an effective cost advantage:

“By 2012, software as a service (SaaS) will surpass open source as the IT cost-cutting method of choice. Although Gartner believes both open source and SaaS are priced by subscription and low profit margins, SaaS is better positioned because it reduces the requirement for IT technical skills, as opposed to open source solutions, which tend to increase those very same requirements.”

At DataSync, we’ve been drinking the same coolaid. Don’t get me wrong, open source is the best way to develop software. We live and breathe it, heck we’ve got our own open source project. But delivering open source software as a smooth, robust, hosted service just makes sense for everyone. It allows any organization to take advantage of the cost-cutting nature of open software, yet doesn’t require a brainiac support staff to keep the whole system humming along smoothly.

So we’re happy that open source and SaaS are getting married. We’re already RSVP’d for the wedding and reception.

There’s a big movement out in the technology sector, and it’s taking the world by storm. It’s the open source movement, and it’s gaining major traction worldwide. So what is open source? For those of you new to open source, it’s a method for creating software centered around the idea of collaborative development. Instead of only allowing a small group of software programmers to build software, open source software is given away for free on the internet, giving millions of developers around the globe access to the code used to build software. This allows software developers access to improve and extend what the original developers started on. The result is software that is flexible, powerful, and very secure.

Opensource.org, the worldwide open source initiative, states that:

“Open source is a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.”

As the above quote states, the best feature of open source is that vendors can’t hold their clients hostage to their software (Microsoft anyone?). This allows businesses to choose software, modify it, and use it without major upfront costs.

How big is open source? Gartner recently published market research on this very topic. It states that by 2012, more than 90 percent of enterprises will use open source. Furthermore, by 2011, open source will become the primary software for cloud-based providers (massive data centers connected to the Internet).

Now you’re wondering, how can software companies afford to just give software away for free? It’s all in the model. Instead of charging large fees for access to their software, open source companies charge for the service, support, and enterprise features of the system. Red Hat has a market cap of $4.3 billion, and they give away Red Hat Linux away for free. However they charge for the services, support, and enterprise features of their package. Another company, Zimbra, was purchased by Yahoo for $350 million, and their software can be downloaded any day of the week at zimbra.com. Their revenue comes from the support and “add-ons” for their open source package. The model is superb in that these companies can make money offering corporate support, while still offering the tremendous advantages of the open source software model.

So what does it mean for you? In the future you won’t be required to pay insane license fees to big software providers to get software that locks you in. Software development companies aren’t going anywhere, but instead of holding us all hostage to their products, they will give software away, and make money by offering value added services and enterprise features. In order for computers and technology to really permeate our lives, we’ve got to be able to trust the technology that we depend on. Open source software is the development method for the next generation that gives developers the freedom to build the right software without the restrictions that current software is inhibited by.

Lets face it: fund raising and tracking volunteers and schedules is a full time position or several positions for any nonprofit business. So how do you organize your post it notes and hectic information so that you can actually make the best use of your resources?

Some of our nonprofit customers have used Datasync to track employees, volunteers, revenue generation and follow through with campaigns. The DataSync solution has combined the best resources that address common needs to create efficient fund raising strategies.

Due to our similar goals in supporting the non-profit community and education initiatives particularly through technology, DataSync has recently added a discount program for its products and services. Visit our website at www.datasyncsuite.com to sign up for a demo and contact us about your needs and see how we can help your business succeed.

DataSync is proud to announce that the latest build of DataSync Suite Community Edition is now available on SourceForge.org. DataSync has selected SourceForge as the primary means to manage community edition releases, and will be publishing upcoming release builds early and often. DataSync Suite Community Edition is currently in alpha stage, and will be released as a production software platform sometime in early 2009. However the release builds are already used by a variety of industries from around the globe. DataSync is focused on uniting best of breed business applications, and has already received positive support from industry.

Development velocity has increased significantly, and DataSync is on track to release the first “core services” component of DataSync Suite next month. The first supported applications in this integration feature will be SugarCRM and Zimbra. Both applications have show tremendous traction, and DataSync is excited to be a part of this growth.

As a part of DataSync’s overall strategy to integrate common business applications, our “release early, release often” development lifecycle will allow for early participation from the community. If you are a developer or have open source developers in your organization, we’d love your participation. Get in touch with our engineering team to find out more about how you can become a part of the DataSync open source integration movement.

In an effort to keep you updated on our progress on DataSync Suite, I decided to sit down with our engineers and ask a few probing questions. We’re excited about our progress with the package thus far, and have a strong commitment of keeping you up to date on what we’re up to. We have an extremely dynamic group of engineers who are making fast progress on our software package.

Q: What aspect of DataSync Suite are you working on right now?
A: Right now we’re working on the ability to archive emails to SugarCRM from Zimbra. This is just the first step in reproducing many of the features of the Outlook and Thunderbird plugins but for Zimbra.

Q: What technologies will you use use for data synchronization?
A: Data synchronization will be handled by what we’ve dubbed the “Integration Bus”. The “Integration Bus”, in short, will listen for changes to certain types of data in applications. When a change occurs in a particular application the Bus will distribute those changes to all other applications which rely on the same type of data.

Q: What are some of the upcoming features to expect?
A: The next major feature that we’ll be releasing is, of course, the email archiving. The communities surrounding Zimbra and SugarCRM have been looking for a way to keep their addressbook (contacts) and their calendars synchronized. After the email archiving our focus will be on just that, giving users a way to keep their calendars and contacts in sync between SugarCRM and Zimbra. Of course the DataSync Suite won’t be limited to just those two applications but will provide the means to allow other applications to be added to the mix easily.

Q: What applications will you be supporting in the future?
A: The next application we will be adding support for is Alfresco. Alfresco is an innovative open source content management system which provides digital management for documents, records, and website content. Following Alfresco will be Magento, an open source ecommerce solution.

Q: How do you handle feature requests?
A: Feature requests and bug reports can be submitted through our website feature request form.

Q: When are the next minor and major releases of the software?
A: The next release will be 0.5.0. This release will include the new email archiving functionality, an improved dashboard that takes up less screen real estate, and will introduce a new application server.

Q: When do you expect a 1.0 release?
A:  We’re looking to release version 1.0 around the end of the year.

If you have questions or comments, please post on our forums or contact us directly.