Open Source ALM Set to Take Off in 2011 : Page 2

VMware Embraces Open Source ALM

Kersten could be right. Last fall, technology bigwig VMware threw its hat into the open source ALM ring. It announced SpringSource Code2Cloud, a suite of cloud-based development and collaboration tools aimed at simplifying the entire application development process.

Also last fall, CollabNet upped its ALM cloud strategy by acquiring Codesion, which provides the enterprise-grade Subversion hosting platform and serves thousands of customers in 90 countries.

Code2Cloud -- created with Taskforce Technologies, a developer of task-focused development and ALM integration solutions -- leverages open source tools to deliver what VMware calls a unified, setup-free development infrastructure.

Code2Cloud uses such tools as Eclipse Mylyn task management, SpringSource Tool Suite (STS) IDE, Hudson continuous integration, and Git source control. It provides a Cloud-centric issue tracker that is compatible with the popular Bugzilla bug tracking system, as well as a dashboard for managing applications and development teams.

The solution leverages the Tasktop Certified ecosystem of Agile and ALM integrations, ensuring interoperability with existing ALM tools and support for best-of-breed Agile technologies.

Significance of CollabNet's Acquisition of Codesion

CollabNet's acquisition of Codesion marks an aggressive move by CollabNet into cross-platform, cloud-based developer services. CollabNet founded the industry-leading Subversion open source project in 2000 and remains the project's principal sponsor.

Codesion's provisioning technology delivers Subversion, Git, and other applications as a SaaS offering, helping developers to code, connect, and deploy in the cloud.

The attraction of open source ALM is not just price, but the amount of innovation that has been driven by developers building tools to support their own productivity patterns.

"Open source ALM tools are built on developer-centric principles," said Kersten. "Transparency is favored over hierarchy, with every task and bug on Eclipse and Mozilla being editable by anyone. It relies on asynchronous collaboration and a consistent use of the task or issue tracker to capture all discussion relevant to changes in the software."