To be successful and to stay competitive in the ever changing business world, a business should be able to adapt modern changes that should be applied. E Commerce has been proven to be an effective way to help your business to achieve these goals. With proper marketing strategy and building a solid E Commerce application, these can be all possible.

Web site plays a vital role in business. However, website should be meeting the business need. There are many ways to manage your web site. From simple Web log (blog) engine system that allows limited publishing content to a full content management system framework to application framework, on which you can build your own custom content management system.

Using an Open Source Content Management Solution can help you build a solid E Commerce Application. It is an easy to use solution that allows an individual to easily create, publish and manage and organize a great variety of content on your Web site. It will give you frameworks which are well written, robust and extensible.

Choosing the best Open Source Solution in building E Commerce should be a very wise decision to make. It should be easy for you and to anyone to adopt in the solution. Below are some vital features of an Open Source solution that you need to consider:

• Friendly URLs using Apache’s mod_rewrite capability • Easily extensible using module framework (The community has developed many useful modules that provide functions such as taxonomy display, jabber authentication, private messages, bookmarks, and so on.) • A personalization environment for individualized content and presentation based on user preferences • Role-based permission system to define access to the viewing and editing of content • Content is fully indexed to support search • Support for other content forms such as polls, threaded comments, and discussions and content syndication • Separation of content from styling in a templating system that uses HTML, CSS, and PHP • Administrative support for logging, analysis, and Web-based administration • Online help

To know more, visit http://www.pegasyssoft.com, a Global provider of professional IT Services. We offer the best services at a cost effective pricing resulting in quick Return On Investment(ROI). Our Services include CRM Services, Sales Effectiveness Solutions, E-Commerce Solutions, Virtual Assistant Services, Custom Software Development and much more.

Open source billing systems are finding new way out through the small business firms everywhere.

This new billing software satisfies many businessmen. People who come up with new businesses are possible to make mistakes that will cost them a fine amount. Open Source billing system enables in proper accounting and reports you accordingly. A helping hand for the clients to come up from meddles of business.

Open source billing software helps anyone to make out a clear business plan too. All these services designs a layout for the new business programming services. Ticketing, account administration, rating, reporting, multi currencies support management, balance tracking, etc are performed. Freelance developers, small business firms, contract employers and other executives are made accessible to this facility. Open source billing system has made the system easily accessible and lessens the time for financial dealings.

Open source billing services with its efficient management in dealing with the business matters makes smooth running of the system. A rapid progress in the company’s structural and functional matters will result by this. Both businesspersons and employees can access open source billing system without depending on any client software. Installation assistance, support contracts, customs developments are a part of it. Open source billing system works on Linux, Windows, MySQL and more.

jbilling is one of the free open source billing systems that assist in automated payment system, processing of credit cards etc. jbilling targets on web based billing facilities that runs on different data bases- Java, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Hypersonic and Oracle. Hence these Open source billing system are adding a lot more in business world it makes the clients to come forth without any hesitation. http://www.jbilling.com

Open source in the simplest of terms is code/applications that are made available for general use without cost/proprietary issues involved. While the prime focus of open source has been data with provision of core specialties like web-based services and file sharing, of late vendors have started open source CRM offerings. The popularity of open source CRM applications has been rising with more customers jumping onto the bandwagon.

Normally CRM software comes with a hefty price tag. In most cases open source CRM software comes at no cost and investment is only required for services and support leading to savings on licensing fees. This is true even in comparison with the hosted CRM option since in the latter case monthly fees add up. However the main advantage of open source is that the code is freely available which means enhancement / debugging can be done by tapping onto the skills of developers all over the world.

However as the saying goes every rose has its thorns. Open source CRM comes with two primary drawbacks – lack of support from the vendor and less focus on overall analytical ability. Open source holds tremendous potential if properly understood. Here are a few tips to understand whether you really need open source CRM:Organizational affinity to open source:

For companies which are comfortable using open source products, the move to open source CRM would be logical. However for companies that are used to being completely reliant on the vendor, the move to open CRM would hold less allure. One primary benefit of open source CRM is with respect to the company’s ability to influence/customize the product as per its specific requirements. For smaller companies, this ability holds great value because they cannot expect solutions very specific to their needs from large scale vendors. Such companies can use open source solutions customized to their own needs and then submit the new version to the vendor to be incorporated in future releases.Adaptability/Integration:

Traditional CRM solutions can only be adapted to specific business requirements once the software has been purchased from the vendor, it being in the form of after-sales vendor support. However the advantage with open source CRM is that the specific business requirements can be handled in terms of separate modules. These modules can be written with advice from the large and varied open source community.Staff issues:

Open source solutions require some amount of interest in developing the capabilities of the product. This is why it is important to gauge if the IT staff involved possess the desire and the skill set required to deal with open source.User community:

It is always a good idea to look at the extent of participation and membership in the online forums dedicated that open source product. The greater the variety of opinions, the greater the number of modifications and capabilities possible for the product. The extent of involvement of the vendor in that community is an idea of their commitment to the development of the product. It is also an indicator of the viability of the product.

As we started the project of the electronic auction PoloMercantil.com, we knew that the proprietary software costs would be too high for our financial resources. Our only option then was to make use of Open Source Code softwares.

However, within the Open Source Code there are lots of softwares to choose from, and it´s up to the system analyst/programmer to pick the ones that best suit the project goals.

In our case, we picked Linux as our operating system. However we faced a big question: Which Linux distribution ? There are dozens of linux distributions, each one with specific advantages, sometimes with or without paid services.

We chose linux Slackware because we thought that it would suit better our needs, in terms of stability and reliability. Slackware is a conservative distribution, meaning that it only offers in its distribution package kernel versions and third party libraries, once it´s been proved to be stable and reliable. As a result, Slackware is one the most stable Linux operating system on the market. If the user wishes the most recent Linux kernel and libraries, we recommend to look for a different distribution.

Another reason for us picking Slackware, was because of its text interface, which at the beginning may become a bit difficult, in the long run however it offers a better understanding of the Linux environment. This way most of Slackware configurations are done thru text scripts.

Once it was set the operating system, we picked Apache as our web server. Apache is one of the most popular web server in the internet. For server programming language, we chose PHP. Also, a very popular programming language. Our experience with Apache/PHP proves that this setup is very reliable, working extremely well in our production environment. For workstation programming language, we chose javascript, which besides of having a simple syntax, it offers lots of resources.

Apache web server is really a complete web server. Also, it can become very complex with many configuration setups.

For our database, we picked Postgresql. This database has been made available to the public for more than 15 years, and besides of being well debugged, it offers so many resources that it has become one of the best database options from Open Source Code softwares. Extremely reliable, Postgresql has reported cases where there have been databases in production with over 4 terabytes. Besides all of that, Postresql is not the most popular Open Source Code database. A matter of marketing ? Probably.

As for the programming language PHP, we had to use an object oriented application structure. There are many PHP application structures being offered with Open Source Code license. Object oriented application is very important, because it makes programming very easy and scalable up to the point where the system may grow without many problems. Also, it helps to keep PHP code separated from HTML, with the help of some specific libraries, such as Smarty. We make use of Smarty library and we believe that it is a very important resource, which can even make web pages faster thru the use of its cache functions.

Also a very important set of libraries worth mentioning for PHP systems, is the PEAR libraries. In PEAR web site, among the many libraries being offered, there are the database interface DB and the MAIL_QUEUE, which sends emails thru the use of database.

As we came to the end of the project PoloMercantil, we had to use some sort of real time database replication. For that we chose the DRBD and Heartbeat libraries. The use of database replication is very important and should not be postponed. Just after 3 months our system got into production, our server hard disk became bad. Thru the use of DRBD/Heartbeat we were able to put the system back into production within seconds, without loosing any data. DRBD/Heartbeat replication is done thru the use of a lan network between the server and slave nodes.

Our project also makes use of ImageMagick (enlarge and reduce images), Iptables (firewall), Tsearch2(text search in portgresql) and Mon (linux monitoring tasks).

Also a very important library worth mentioning is the pseudo APC compiler for PHP. Speed is always a critical factor for internet sites.

PoloMercantil is already in production and based upon our experience we can say that the Open Source Code softwares we picked, proved to be extremely reliable and stable. Open Source Code softwares can certainly be an excellent option for developing web sites.

Roberto Sedycias

IT Consultant for PoloMercantil

This article is under GNU FDL license and can be distributed without any previous authorization from the author. However the author´s name and all the URL´s (links) mentioned in the article & biography must be kept.

In November of this year Sun Microsystems moved to “open source” status for Java, after a decade of maintaining proprietary status for the portable programming language. Specifically, Sun has placed Java into the public domain by putting it under GPL – an acronym for General Public License. What this means is that software programmers will have vastly increased freedom to develop programs based on Java and to develop modifications for the language itself.
It also puts Sun into the mainstream with other major platform developers such as Linux. While the company had put its Solaris operating system into open source status some time ago, Java is a highly distributed consumer platform and providing open source access to it gives the company a real boost in its standing among its peers. Perhaps more important, it will stimulate further development of consumer oriented Java-based programs. It is estimated that eight out of every ten cell phones have a Java application running on them.
A GPL use requires that any product developed under such licensure be returned to the “open source community” and remain, in effect accessible to all. Sun’s variation on this principle has an exception for applications built on the Java “Virtual Machine,” a platform that the company made available to software developers some time ago.
What this exception does is allow continued development of proprietary software written for Java, which keeps the language viable as a platform for revenue producing products. Prior to the switch to GPL status, Java program developers had to pay a licensing fee to Sun.
IBM has been after Sun to take Java to open source status for years. Their Works Projects has been a center for the development of open source products, primarily based on Linux. From their perspective, Sun’s decision to grant GPL status for Java is viewed as an opportunity to unite with Linux and provide a stronger platform to challenge Microsoft. The politics of software can be enormously complicated, especially when there’s an elephant like Microsoft in the house. But what Sun has accomplished with this move is provide an opportunity for programmers to zero in on Java products as potentially large revenue sources.
Unlike Linux, which was spun off of UNIX to provide an alternative to Windows, Java stands in a class of its own. While Linux has survived in the marketplace, it has never mounted a major challenge to Windows. Java’s unique qualities and the intellectual property that protects those qualities will now be an open book for programmers developing new applications.
It will also provide the opportunity to bundle Java products with Linux based software. Sun’s internal interest in this move is to stimulate more developers to use the language, in order to revive its own internal software business. Since taking a huge hit in their high-end server market, Sun has been struggling to find a new path and has increasingly looked to software as an opportunity.
Sun’s EVP for software summed up the value of the move for the company and its product. “People have been hesitant to distribute Java worldwide with Linux (distributions) because of (concerns over) license alignment,” Green said. “This is the last gate to ensure that Java will be distributed worldwide.”

Are you looking for open source help desk software to download for free and use for your business? Then this helpful guide is going to show you secret resources to find your software and get access to it easily.

You know how having a powerful, easy to use helpdesk system is important to your business. Because if your customer see you take care of their questions quickly and effectively, you will win their trust and they will buy from you again and again.

So where can you find a powerful help desk software that does all this for you?

As you already know, there are many companies who offer various helpdesk systems. Most of their solutions come with a hefty price tag which you may not want to do.

So is there a smarter way to save money and still get a powerful help desk software?

The good news is… Yes, you can find some resources online to download top quality free help desk solutions.

They are also called open source help desk software.

It means you can download them and use them for free forever. Open source software solutions are for public use. You can even customize them for your business by adding your logo, desired color, and so much more.

Isn’t it amazing? Open source help desk solutions really give you the ultimate edge to get a powerful helpdesk software for free and use it in any way you wish.

How to Find the Best Open Source Help Desk Solutions?

There are quite many websites out there that offer different open source software solutions. But how can you find the best one with the best quality and ease of use?

Here comes the tricky part, because all of them claim their software is THE best in the market. But as you know, this may not be always true.

By finding out which free help desk software is really the best for your business, you save yourself months of your valuable time that otherwise would be wasted on a poor quality one.

Implementing an automated accounting system in your company can be quite challenging. There are several factors that you have to consider including the price, the task that you would like the system to accomplish and the ease by which the system could be used. You would also face a wide array of choices when you decide to look for an automated accounting system.When it comes to selecting an accounting software, you can either go for a web-based or a computer-based program. If you do not have enough infrastructures, then the best move would be to go for a web-based program. A web-based program allows you to process your data without the need for additional computers or server to host your data. All information is kept secured on a separate server hosted by the program authors.If your company is on a tight budget, you can opt to have an open source software. Open source software are programs that you can use and edit for free. These software programs allow for an easy integration should you have an existing system on hand. However, open source programs are not without its share of disadvantages.One disadvantage in using open source accounting CRM software is the fact that integration could take a while. This is because your coder or programmer would need to test and debug everything before you can actually roll out the program. And that would also mean that you should have someone on your team who can understand different programming languages.Another downside to open source CRM software systems is the fact that these projects could be left unattended to by the author themselves. This would mean that you would have no one to help you solve any bugs or configuration problems that you might encounter. Doing the fixes and debugging on your own would eat up a lot of time that could have been spent doing more important things.Choosing an open source program needs careful study and analysis. In the end, only you can decide whether open source applications, whether it’s an accounting system or a customer relationship application, are worth a shot.

Open source development has had a huge impact in the domain of web development. The development of open source software has found many takers within the web development community and has provided tremendous value add-ons to augment quality. The open source code software is available under the open source license and is used by developers and implemented as an important facet of web development. Even in offshore software development projects, there is a tremendous usage of open source development which gives the software a whole new dimension. Critics have said that web development becomes easier and simplified with the inclusion of open source code. The early releases in open source determine the changes that are subsequently made in the software before it finally gets disbursed. The changes depend on the response directed to the prototype. This is perhaps one of the biggest advantages of using open source as the code can be changed anytime with varying feedback.                             The tools used in developing open source code are many. The communication channel mostly used to co-ordinate is the e-mail which keeps all the involved parties vigilant about the latest developments. Inputs come in galore and the most sensible ones are put into effect. The tools used for software engineering are mostly version control systems and bug trackers. The former has developers located all over the globe and write source code. The constantly share updates and have a coordinator who ensures that all the work is submitted to a single point of contact. This makes it easy to delegate work and also to assimilate the end product. The latter revolves around collaboration where Concurrent Version Systems are used. These systems are efficient in managing files and codes and help in involving multiple personnel. All the code is integrated into forming the final product that is tested thoroughly before being deployed. The bug trackers are meant to constantly track the status of development. Some of these popular entities include Bugzilla, Trac, mantis and request tracker. The testing tools implemented are exemplary with the software being tested inside out. Open source code has certainly been a revelation in web development India Project coordinators get to involve a lot of personnel and geographical barriers can be superseded through wireless communication effortlessly. Since projects can be segregated into sections, it becomes easy to delegate all the open source code to developers who are at the benefit of working from home, which only leaves assimilation to be done in the end. So it comes as no surprise that all organizations doing good business resort to open source development.

The term Open Source Definition is a certification mark issued by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) to decide whether a software license can be considered as open sources or not. An Open Source software is supported by the endeavor of programmers who continuously work towards improvement in the code of the software and share the changes made among the community members. Typically, such software are developed as a response to proprietary software and custom software development services owned and sold by private companies.

The members of the community rely on peer review to find, modify, and eliminate bugs in the source code. The whole process of making improvement of the product by making changes and by eliminating bugs of the software is done is very fast, the information gets shared by the whole assortment of members across a wide spread of communities.

The main aim of open source is to create bug-free software and products that are more useful during computer software development for the general public who cannot afford the expensive original software. The programmers who create open source are neither motivated by the financial gains nor concerned by the proprietary ownership of the product. In short, open source is generally created as a public collaboration to make it freely available to everyone.

A product must meet various terms and conditions in order to be considered OSI certified, such as no one is denied to access the program, the holder of the product must allow making changes the original design of the product, and the author of the license of the source code should not collect royalties for the distribution of the software program. The OSI certification mark enables the general public to access the source code of custom software programming free of charge. The public can not only access it but also make changes the original design of the software free of cost. Overall, Open Source Definition is one of the crucial concepts in the software licensing segment.

Open source means practices in software product development by a group of volunteers who work together in a highly collaborative way. There are some steps involved in the open source software development process. Let’s learn how open source is beneficial to users and developers: Software created by open source volunteers differs from commercial software sold by vendors in many ways. The key difference is that open source software is released under certain licenses that enable users to download, inspect and modify the source code for their own benefits freely. Some open source softwares have some added provisions concerning rights of the original developer, rights to use it for any purpose and derivative works. How Open Source Projects Benefit Developers?  For developers, open source has many advantages. Developers who have a successful online software development project to their name enjoy many benefits in the form or recognition and fame. They even have the opportunity to earn money through consulting or through various other sources. Most developers see open source as problem-solving tools and also see them as a continuous learning process. But, for some it is a software development methodology that has many collaborative benefits. How Open Source Software Benefit Users?Users who have downloaded open source software have many benefits including freedom to use the program for their own purpose as well as choice. There are number of open source programs like OpenOffice.org that are to download and can be used by anybody. For software and development experts, relying on pricier programs can make their projects costly. There are many such open source projects that help them create bespoke software without spending funds on costly commercial software. Some users also use their skills to modify the source code of the software to suit their development process.  The best part of open source software is that it does not cost money. However, some projects may charge subscription money, or may encourage you to upgrade to premium versions.

Smartphone users who think they won’t have many apps available to them on the Droid phone will be happy to know that Google’s Android Market offers just over 16,000 different apps for users to enjoy. Android market is, in many respects, just like Apple’s iPhone Apps Store. It is an international marketplace where people can login and purchase all kinds of apps, from the fun to the practical and useful. The Android Market application comes pre-installed on all Droid phones, so users can take advantage of apps right away. More and more people are looking to increase the flexibility of their smartphones, and apps like the ones featured on Android Market allow them to take the power of their desktop and laptop computers out of the office and into the real world.

The process of developing and marketing an Android application online is really no different from what iPhone developers do. An Android developer would first try to find a niche that a new Android application could fill, develop the application, and then sell it. There may be well over 16,000 apps on Android Market, but even though this is so, there is always room for innovation. New Android entrepreneurs become successful every day with well crafted, strategized, and marketed applications. When a new app enters the Android Market, it can grow very quickly into a passive source of revenue for its creator. In layman’s terms, this means you get to play golf much more often.

There are other venues for selling Droid phone applications, but none of them are nearly as well-recognized or sought after as Android Market. One might want to make the comparison between Ebay and every other auction site. Because Ebay started off popular and has the most aggressive marketing plan, nobody even comes close to touching it.

If you have an idea for an Android application, Appiction’s team of strategists and marketing specialists will take all of the right steps to ensure its success on Android Market. We have been in this business for years and were there when Android Market first opened its doors to developers looking to sell their innovations. We know which combination of application strategy, development, and marketing will be the most profitable on Android Market with the lowest possible cost. The smartphone world is going through a revolution that will make all of our lives more fun and easy. Appiction is here to help you to profit from it.

Learn More About Android Application Development

Author: N Nair
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Canada duty

Open source web development programs have been around since the beginning of the birth of internet. It is a development system that allows effective and complete accessibility to a program’s source code. These programs are created by the people, maintained and used by them too. Open source software is different from the program developed by certain companies as it is exceptionally affordable. Here are some of the advantages related to the use of these development programs.

The technology is great to improve your web site and make it even more effective. Not only this, you can do almost anything that you can imagine on your computer using these approach. There are many big web development companies out there that support open source web development programs wholeheartedly as the system is one of the most safest and honest mode of development. Since it is extremely accessible, other developers are able to analyze it for any flaws or viruses.

The cost of this technology is very reasonable. The web sites for open source technology can just operate without having to spend a dime for license and server fees. The audit ability of these programs is also high since it is easily accessible contrary to the closed source system that makes its customers trust them without question.

Flexibility that comes with this methodology is extremely high. The owner of the product or program code is not obligated to be in connection with a certain organization or person. The code is able to be accessed by anybody and thus can be customized according to the individual’s preferences.

The ownership of the system is not fixed. The users of this technology are allowed to own the code of the products or programs created with no hassle with encryption issues. Unlike closed source programs that have encrypted codes, users of the open source technology are free to view the code and make adjustments needed to remove flaws and other problems.

The glue that keeps a community together, albeit online or offline, is communication. It is especially vital to include, encourage and exercise tools of communication when creating or growing online communities because it is so easy to disengage with one click of a finger. There are two steps that are crucial to take in order for an online community to actively thrive: choosing the right community-building tools and applying them correctly. If you choose the wrong tools to build a community, then everyone will suffer the consequences. Every community has unique qualities that will shape its character, which determines what features will need to be implemented. Once a community has determined its needs, utilizing an open source software package, or content management system, it will take the vision into online reality and search engine optimization success.

Choosing an open source content management system, like Drupal, allows you the functionality and ability to build and use every tool under the sun. As technology and search engine optimization continue to evolve at a near-frightening rate, you will be able to adapt Drupal to meet the changes that the Internet brings. Drupal is very reactive to changes and with a little bit of knowledge and guidance, anyone can make the necessary tweaks. Open source CMSs not only keep pace with changes in trends, but they drive innovation by allowing any individual or community the access to resources that can create new technologies for the system. Drupal not only puts innovation in the consumers’ hands, but encourages them to innovate themselves. I believe that is called a win/win.

Open source projects are community-driven, and communities are driven through the coordination and efforts of many individuals working together with the right tools. Embracing the aspects of open source will allow online communities to share collective wisdom from other existing communities or individuals within the larger community. There are hundreds of regional Drupal communities all over the world that are getting together to dork out together. Chances are there plenty of people in your immediate area that may be available to help you solve whatever issue or crisis you are dealing with. People who unite over a passion want nothing more than to help each other out.

Open source communities, like Drupal, are built upon the philosophy of collaboration. Organizational collaboration is a very powerful way to create innovative features and applications for the community. There is nothing more inspirational than seeing an idea become a reality, with the help of a community. But communities need to be nurtured to thrive. Just because it is an “open source” community, doesn’t mean that everything that is thrown on the table is going to work efficiently. The proper understanding of the community needs, implementing open source technologies, like Drupal, and staying actively involved will help an online, open source community stay on the crest of any technological wave.

Volacci is the leading Drupal SEO company and very passionate about your online success. By the end of your contract you will have at least as much additional business from your web site as you spend on our services… or we’ll work for free until you do.

It seems that open source software (customization) is really coming of age now. It’s making its mark in the commercial world, it’s rewriting all the rules, and it’s impossible to ignore it. When it comes to open source customization, Jooma is a great option. Through Joomla, you can build an attractive and innovative website, and Joomla’s various development solutions are bound to make you happy. So what is Joomla then? It’s a free open source CMS (Content Management System) which makes your site look much, much better. There are many Joomla developers around, with many years of experience, who will be able to give you exactly what you need. You can use Joomla, or any other Open Source CMS, for that matter, to get great features like Directory, Picture / Photo Gallery, Help Desk, Support Desk, Google Map, Real Estate Property Rental, E-commerce, Showcase / Catalogue, and Recruitment / Job Portal, besides many others. In fact, an Open Source CMS can even give you Newsflash scrolling and a Chat room!

Open source customization is always guaranteed to give you wonderful results. At the end of the day, it boils down to you choosing the right application, and getting it properly implemented with the help of suitable expertise. Open source customization can help you build a highly interactive and innovative website (a modular one that gives you options to upgrade), with a website design that is both stylish and affordable. You should go for an Open Source CMS that gives you options like Printable Versions, Page Caching, RSS Feeds, blogs, etc. If you go for Joomla in Open Source CMS, then you must consider services like Joomla Module Installation, Joomla Custom Design Templates, Joomla Design Integration, Joomla Custom Modules Development, Maintenance Work for Joomla Portals, Joomla Custom Components Development, and Joomla Custom Modification and Customization.

When it comes to you, nothing is too good for your website. That’s exactly why you should choose a good form of Open source customization, and a good Open Source CMS, to make sure that your website looks flawless, and runs flawlessly too. There are loads of companies out there who will take the responsibility of such a task for you – go for one that is effective and efficient in its administration, one that gives you high-level server security, responsive services, complete e-commerce solution (permanent and fast storefront access), etc. Open source customization can give you an E-commerce solution that not only supports multiple languages, but is also SEO-friendly. It is essential to put your company’s business online, and to do that, you need a website. That is why a great looking website is always important, and for that, you need proper Open source customization and Open Source CMS. Magento in particular is highly recommended, because it is good at customizing your content, looks, and templates, as well as functionality, of the website. With Magento, you get many customer-friendly features, and you can localize your content as well. Yes, a good website is essential, that’s where Open source customization and Open Source CMS is important.