The Enterprise System Spectator

Friday, October 05, 2007

OpenMFG is now xTuple

I really dislike vendor name changes, but here's another one. OpenMFG, the open source ERP vendor, has changed its name to xTuple. It appears the name change is the result of adding a second product, PostBooks, in addition to the organization's existing OpenMFG product. So the name of the vendor had to be changed to something other than the name of the product. It makes sense, actually. Because PostBooks has applicability beyond the manufacturing industry, a new name was also needed for the organization that did not imply a strictly manufacturing-orientation.

The PostBooks product is not a separate product from OpenMFG. It appears to be a subset of OpenMFG code that the firm distributes on a truly open source basis (under the CPAL open source license). This allows users with limited needs or individuals that want to prototype a limited set of functionality to do so without getting involved in licenses or contracts. There's a comparison chart on xTuple's website that explains the functionality present in each product.

There's more information on the CPAL license in this InternetNews article, which quotes xTuple's CEO Ned Lilly on reasons for going with the new license.

Related posts
Open source ERP gaining adherents
ERP Graveyard

by Frank Scavo, 10/05/2007 10:25:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!

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