GoAhead Software Moves to Open Source Business Model
Acquisition of the Avantellis® Product Line from Emerson Network Power Embedded Computing Reinforces Major Strategy Change by Industry Leader
Bellevue, Wash. (PRWEB) March 19, 2010
GoAhead® Software today announces that it is shifting its business model and technology strategy from its proprietary SAFfire product to an open source software model. Simultaneous with the move to open source, GoAhead is announcing the acquisition of Avantellis from Emerson Network Power. These two significant moves combine to create a new overall strategic direction for GoAhead.
As the market share leader in commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) high availability software, GoAhead believes that this strategic direction will further accelerate COTS adoption in telecommunications, media, aerospace and defense, and other markets. The decision to move to open source is being made now due to a number of market developments that indicate a significant overall shift towards adoption of OpenSAF, the open source community focused on high availability middleware:
The maturity and stability of the OpenSAF software distribution, especially the upcoming 4.0 release The continued support of the OpenSAF Foundation by key industry players such as Ericsson, Emerson, HP, Wind River and Huawei The inclusion of OpenSAF in commercial deployments by industry leaders such as Ericsson
“The adoption of open source by industry leaders combined with the rapid maturing of OpenSAF technology makes the timing of this decision ideal for our company,” said Asif Naseem, President and COO of GoAhead Software. “We look forward to contributing our breadth of experience in high availability software to this vibrant community. GoAhead’s acquisition of Emerson Network Power’s Avantellis team, representing many of the original developers of OpenSAF, creates an un-matched level of capability at GoAhead and enables us to continue our tradition of world-class expertise in delivering standards-based software solutions.”
In conjunction with the move to open source, GoAhead is formally announcing that it is joining the OpenSAF foundation. GoAhead will be contributing key components of its SAFfire middleware to OpenSAF and company President Asif Naseem will be joining the OpenSAF foundation as a board member.
“Emerson Network Power has created a successful and high quality product line based on a commercial distribution of OpenSAF,” said Scott Ziffra, Vice President and General Manager of Software and Services for the Embedded Computing business of Emerson Network Power. “GoAhead’s market leadership uniquely positions them to drive the next steps in the rapid development of these OpenSAF-based products. Emerson and GoAhead have formed a Platinum Partnership through which Emerson will continue offering industry-leading high-availability solutions built on state-of-the-art ATCA systems and OpenSAF technology.”
GoAhead’s distribution of OpenSAF will be enhanced with a series of complementary value-added products and services. Just last month, the company announced the acquisition of embeddedMIND, an innovative management infrastructure solution that includes configuration management and provisioning. Other key new products and services will include a workbench-like development toolkit featuring an IDE (Integrated Development Environment), and a set of diagnostics tools for rapid resolution of issues found in production deployment scenarios. In addition, GoAhead will continue to support and enhance SelfReliant, its proprietary high availability solution.
About GoAhead Software
GoAhead Software is the worldwide leader in commercial off-the-shelf solutions for equipment manufacturers who recognize that scarce development resources should be allocated to building applications and not infrastructure. Our software platform includes high availability middleware to ensure 99.999% availability of applications as well as a management infrastructure for networked devices that require multiple management interfaces. GoAhead's leadership and commitment to Service Availability Forum standards prevent vendor lock-in and ensures application portability across different hardware and software platforms. Proven in over 60,000 deployments, GoAhead is helping industry leaders such as Motorola, Alcatel-Lucent, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman reduce development costs and accelerate time to delivery. For more information, visit www. goahead. com.
About Emerson Network Power
Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson, is the global leader in enabling Business-Critical Continuity™ from grid to chip for telecommunication networks, data centers, health care and industrial facilities. Emerson Network Power provides innovative solutions and expertise in areas including AC and DC power and precision cooling systems, embedded computing and power, integrated racks and enclosures, power switching and controls, infrastructure management, and connectivity. All solutions are supported globally by local Emerson Network Power service technicians. For more information on Emerson Network Power’s embedded computing products and services, including ATCA®, MicroTCATM, CompactPCI, VMEbus for original equipment manufacturers and systems integrators in the telecommunications, industrial automation, aerospace/defense and medical markets, visit www. EmersonNetworkPower. com/EmbeddedComputing (http://www. EmersonNetworkPower. com/EmbeddedComputing). Learn more about Emerson Network Power products and services at www. EmersonNetworkPower. com.
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