Earlier this week, we released the fourth CAOS Report (press release) - ‘Managing in the Open - The Next Wave of Systems Management.’

In this report, The 451 Group investigates the impact of open source on the systems management software space. This is a software segment that has been dominated by proprietary software vendors on the one hand and internally developed scripts and tools on the other. But there are signs that this is changing, and a new middle ground is rapidly growing. Open source vendors that can address where there are gaps or user needs in the traditional offerings – monitoring, configuration, provisioning and others, particularly with Linux – have the best chance of success.

Proprietary systems management vendors have been slow to embrace open source, providing an increased opportunity for new vendors to emerge, and for popular open source systems management projects to get consideration. Virtualization is also contributing to this phenomenon. Still, 451 analysts expect more involvement in open source support, partnership, M&A and emulation from the proprietary vendors, particularly in the next year or so.

This report examines the impact of open source on the systems management software segment. More specifically, it examines the future of open source systems management and the impact on traditional software vendors and end users. The focus of this report is the emergence of a number of open source systems management vendors and the disruptive impact they may have on proprietary systems management vendors. The report reviews the existing open source systems management players and clearly articulates the similarities and differences among offerings. It also explores the noncommercial angle and leading open source systems management projects that are being rapidly adopted in the enterprise.

The report also takes a look at the impact of this disruption on end-user organizations. It includes a set of recommendations for end users with regard to open source systems management, as well as recent survey data on the topic. What is clear from interactions with end users is that open source is now deeply entrenched in the software infrastructure of many organizations. End-user organizations that have seen benefits from open source software at the lower level of the infrastructure stack are now contemplating opportunities for open source software in systems management.

If you are an existing 451 CAOS client and would like to download the full report, or if you are not a 451 CAOS client but wish to inquire about accessing the full report, please visit the CAOS Report 4 page. 451 CAOS clients will need to log in from the report page (via the left nav login button) to access the download link.

We are already in the process of working on CAOS Report 5, scheduled for release in September. The upcoming report will focus on the open source opportunity in the SMB market. If you have any questions about either report, please freel free to contact me.