FuseSource Goes Independent for Open Source Integration, Messaging 
In a sign of the maturing of open source middleware, FuseSource Corp., a unit of Progress Software, is going independent. FuseSource will continue to offer open source integration and messaging software, tools, training, and consulting based on Apache ServiceMix, Camel, MQ messaging and other middleware-related projects.
In a sign of the maturing of open source for integration and middleware, FuseSource Corp., a unit of Progress Software, is going independent. FuseSource will continue to offer open source integration and messaging software, tools, training, and consulting based on Apache Software Foundation’s ServiceMix, Camel, MQ messaging and other middleware-related projects.
Going independent will allow FuseSource to better meet the ongoing needs of its customers, Debbie Moynihan, FuseSource director of marketing, told IDN.
“Many IT professionals have proven the value of open source throughout many areas of their company, and these users also have come to really trust the reliability of Apache’s [ASF] integration projects,” Moynihan told IDN. The FuseSource model supports a broad range of options, including its design and deployment templates, tools, instruction for internal IT staff or even hands-on consulting.
“FuseSource will continue to offer customers distributions, expertise and tools to help them build and deploy their [middleware] projects, and still contain costs,” she added.
“Many IT professionals have proven the value of open source throughout many areas of their company, and these users also have come to really trust the reliability of Apache’s [ASF] integration projects.”
Debbie Moynihan
Director of Marketing
FuseSouce
From this model, FuseSource has more than 200 large enterprise customers. Many customers with large-scale enterprise projects started with modest departmental or smaller footprint projects, and built them out with FuseSource’s offerings, Moynihan said. Those large organizations include the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Sabre Holdings and online retailer Zappos.
Zappos’ senior director of engineering Brent Cromley, said in a statement: “FuseSource is offering us the best of both worlds [for] integration and messaging infrastructure software. Not only do we have access to the flexibility, cost-savings and community of highly engaged open source projects, but we also get the support of a trusted partner that understands what’s required for successful, large-scale implementations.”
So, what’s driving adoption of open source middleware among enterprise architects? According to Moynihan, it’s a combination of open source code quality and commercial partners such as FuseSource. When done right, this go-to-market equation sounds something like this -- Reliability [plus] Cost-control [plus] Training and/or Hands-on Support customers need to design, deploy, maintain and update their projects.
FuseSource offers free access to its distribution of key Apache Software Foundation projects focused on integration and messaging. The firm also offers subscriptions, which include certified distros, as well as documentation, support and tools to ensure SLAs and allow management and metering of the solutions.
Specifically, FuseSource offers the following certified Apache distributions:
- Fuse ESB—Based on Apache ServiceMix, Fuse ESB is an enterprise service bus (ESB) and the central “backbone” supporting enterprise integration efforts.
- Fuse Message Broker—Based on Apache ActiveMQ, Fuse Message Broker is an open source Java Message Service (JMS) Message Broker that lets applications and service components communicate with each other.
- Fuse Mediation Router—Based on Apache Camel, the Fuse Mediation Router is an engine that allows enterprises to quickly implement enterprise integration patterns.
- Fuse Services Framework—Based on Apache CXF, the Fuse Services Framework is a platform to allow users to quickly develop and deploy Web services so applications can share specific functions and information with each other.
FuseSource uses the Apache licenses for its distributions, so organization do not need to have a paid FuseSource subscription to use the software. “We want as many people to use them as possible,” Moynihan said.
FuseSource also offers customers access to many of the top Apache experts, as many engineers on the FuseSource team are also committers to top Apache integration and messaging projects. “Our customers really value access to our team that are Apache committers, and who also post comments that are available through our community resources,” Moynihan added. FuseSource has more than 20 active project code committers on staff, including co-founders of Apache ServiceMix, Apache ActiveMQ, Apache Camel and Apache CXF.
Those ties to Apache will continue, and likely deepen, in FuseSource’s new independent status. “We will continue to employee and support key leaders in those Apache [integration-related] projects we build on,” Moynihan said. Asked whether FuseSource might work with additional Apache projects in the future, she said that Apache Karaf is already on the company’s list, mainly due to FuseSource’s support for the OSGi specs. Apache Karaf is an OSGi-based runtime that provides a lightweight container onto which various components and applications can be deployed.
As for community, “FuseSource will also build on its Fuse Forge open environment for the creation of integration projects,” Moynihan added. Fuse Forge offers devs a community where they can focus on deployment and applications – not simply on software development.
