OpenLogic helps enterprises manage open source access

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OpenLogic helps enterprises manage open source access

Open source software is no longer an enterprise pariah, but IT shops still want to manage and monitor its use among their internal developers.

To that end, Broomfield, Colo.-based OpenLogic Inc. announced that it has updated

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its OpenLogic Exchange Enterprise Edition (OLEX EE) tool with expanded policy capabilities.

Accessed through a Web-based portal, OLEX EE now includes list-based policy management in which an IT manager can pre-define open source packages as "white" (pre-approved), "black" (forbidden), or "gray" (in which an organization needs to approve open source use), explained Kim Weins, OpenLogic senior vice president of marketing.

It also supports "cascading policies" -- in which policies are applied to any open source packages that might also be contained in a bundle -- and integration with OLEX-certified packages – a list of 380 or so open source packages supported and certified by the company.

Open source packages included in this list tend to be "above the operating system, but below the business application," Weins said, namely middleware, infrastructure and development tools. Thus OpenLogic provides support for Hibernate, Apache, and Eclipse, to name a few, but not Linux distributions such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) or an application like SugarCRM.

In the event that open source packages make their way into an organization outside of the OLEX EE portal, it also integrates with OSS Discovery, an inventory and auditing tool that discovers open source software packages.

OSS Discovery is the basis of another OpenLogic initiative, the Open Source Census, launched late last year to quantify and track the use of open source software in the enterprise. By installing OSS Discovery, participants can opt to anonymously report back to OpenLogic on which open source packages are in use in their organizations. Data collection for the census began this quarter, and interested parties can download OSS Discovery at www.ossdisovery.org. Pricing for OLEX EE is based per seat and starts at $100 per year.

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