One of the main advantages of open source software is the freedom to modify and redistribute software as anyone sees fit thanks to the GNU General Public License many of the open source software packages carry. Unfortunately, a lot of these packages require somewhat intimate knowledge with the LAMP software bundle (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) that many people can find very intimidating. All of the latest and greatest packages remain just out of reach for the less tech savvy individuals and those small businesses lacking IT managers.

Fortunately, there are hosted software solutions in existence that offer many of the same benefits and features found in the latest open source software, such as Zoho’s hosted business suite.

What is Zoho all about?
Zoho is a suite of online applications (services) that you sign up for and access from Zoho’s Website. The applications are free for individuals and some have a subscription fee for organizations. Zoho’s vision is to provide their customers (individuals, students, educators, non-profits, small and medium sized businesses) with the most comprehensive set of applications available anywhere (breadth); and for those applications to have enough features (depth) to make your user experience worthwhile.

What is the main advantage of using Zoho?
Zoho is bringing together a wide range of online applications making it easier for individuals and businesses to manage all their work while dramatically reducing the cost. But being more productive and saving money is just the beginning of using Zoho. As they continue to integrate the various Zoho services and innovate on new ways of getting things done, they hope that you will find working online not only more rewarding, more collaborative, but more enjoyable. You can read some of their blog posts to learn more about some of the advantages of working online. Here are a couple of sample posts: “Offline vs. Online”. and “Business at the Margins”. a post by Zoho’s founder and CEO.

While using Zoho your documents and data are securely stored online on their servers and can be accessed from anywhere. This means as long as you have Internet access you can access your Zoho data from any computer and enjoy a productive and convenient working experience wherever you go without the hassle of bringing your computer with you. In addition, Zoho helps people collaborate on projects and share information with a simple mouse click. For example, in Zoho Writer, there are several ways to share documents in private, make them public or even perform collaborative editing in real time. Zoho also offers a very economical approach to getting your work done. While we offer free editions of all their applications, businesses also have access to our business editions at extremely competitive rates.

Magnolia is a leading commercial open-source Enterprise Content Management System based on the Java Content Repository standard (JSR-170). Magnolia is renowned for its outstanding combination of ease-of-use and enterprise architecture. It is used to power the digital communication of anyone from governments to leading FORTUNE 500 enterprises in more than 100 countries on all continents of the world.

With Magnolia, you

• enable faster, less expensive content updates
• increase content accuracy, quality, and value
• decrease information retrieval time
• centrally manage site usability and branding
• centrally manage site development and deployment
• facilitate new opportunities for innovation

When it comes to team collaboration, everyone wants the latest Web 2.0 technology—wikis, blogs, file sharing, secure threaded discussions , and the list goes on. And every software vendor swears they have ‘The Best’ of each tool. Here’s the point: You need all this groupware in one integrated environment— along with the real-time presence —to achieve true enterprise collaboration and transform collaborative social networking into a competitive advantage. That’s what ICEcore calls Cool Collaboration.

ICEcore says it all. A single Integrated Collaboration Environment that establishes a collaborative, group workspace of people, teams, functions, tasks, and content all working together to drive effective teamwork to the next level. And best of all, it comes from a proven software provider with a decade of experience delivering successful team collaboration and real-time communication solutions to leading organizations. Now, take advantage of this expertise in open source collaboration.

KnowledgeTree™ is a leading commercial open source electronic document management software designed for teams and small to medium-sized organizations. Sign-up for KnowledgeTreeLive online or run KnowledgeTree on your own premises.

With no vendor lock-in and with source code readily available, KnowledgeTree provides a more flexible, cost-effective alternative to other document management applications.

KnowledgeTree offers a unique value proposition. Ease of use, combined with the flexibility of open source, reduces total cost of ownership and significantly lowers implementation and financial risk.

KnowledgeTree is Document Management Made Simple. Depending on your organization’s needs, KnowledgeTree also offers a wide range of support services to fulfill that promise.

Deployment options according to your integration, configuration & security needs

1. Stack Installer (on-premise) - install KnowledgeTree on your own operating system. The installer includes its own certified Web Server and Database Engine.
   Available as KnowledgeTree Premium, KnowledgeTree Plus, KnowledgeTree Basic, KnowledgeTree Community editions
2. Software-as-a-Service (on-demand) – all the powerful document management features available in the on-premise editions of KnowledgeTree, without requiring the installation or maintenance of any software.
   Available as KnowledgeTreeLive
3. Software Appliance (on premise) – evaluate or deploy KnowledgeTree on virtual machine infrastructure or on hardware without an operating system. Appliances provide automated updating of both the application and underlying operating system from the KnowledgeTree update service.
   Available as KnowledgeTree Community Edition. Commercial editions will be available in the first quarter of 2008.

Alfresco is the leading open source alternative for enterprise content management. The open source model allows Alfresco to use best-of-breed open source technologies and contributions from the open source community to get higher quality software produced more quickly at much lower cost.

Their goal is to not only provide an open source offering but to surpass commercial offerings in terms of features, functionality and benefits to the user community. Alfresco is built by a team of leading members from Documentum® and Interwoven® with 15 years experience in Enterprise Content Management (ECM), including the co-founder of Documentum.

• Enterprise Content Management (ECM)
• Document Management
• Web Content Management
• Collaboration
• Knowledge Management
• Records Management
• Image Management
• Alfresco JSR 170 Repository