[BlueOnyx:09872] Re: scripts installer

[Michael Stauber]

Hi Steffan,

> I think this is kind of topic but.
> I like to offer my client a bundle of scripts they can install.
> 
> I know Michael and Compass are offering a few scripts with a installer
> But you have to buy every pkg and for every server.
> 
> There is one great installer Softaculous that runs 259 scripts
> Lookt at there custum integration but I think that is to over my head
> http://softaculous.com/docs/Custom_Integration

That is an interesting page and I just looked at it. But did you see this 
quote on it, Steffan?

"The pricing for custom based integrations is $0.1/month/user with minimum 
$100/month in billing."

So that isn't exactly free either. And for $1200 a year you can buy pretty 
much everything that Solarspeed and Compass Networks have to offer and still 
have money left to take the wife shopping. ;-)

But yes, let us take a look at this for a moment:

There are a lot of interesting web applications available and there certainly 
is a demand from clients to have gimmicks such as Wordpress, some kind of 
photo gallery, this or that CMS, this or that Wiki and whatever else comes to 
mind. No matter what you (or your clients) want to do, typically there is an 
app around for it somehwere.

On the other hand we all know the problems: The app has to get installed. And 
once it is installed, there must be ways to make sure that it remains current 
and updated (especially the more popular ones such as Wordpress or Typo3). 
Because if they're not staying updated, then sooner or later someone will hack 
your server through it.

Next there is the problem that BlueOnyx is somewhat specific. So when you 
install some app from "out in the wild", you have to take care that the 
installation process doesn't tear security holes into BlueOnyx and that it 
doesn't break anything else. The same has to be taken into account when you 
update the application.

Compass Networks and Solarspeed are working together on a joint project to 
overhaul WHAM (the web application installer initially designed by NuOnce 
Networks) and to overhaul (and/or merge) all the individual web applications 
that we offer. Also new ones are currently being made and will be released 
soon.

The way we're doing it will allow you (and any siteAdmin if you want to) to 
safely and easily deploy any WHAM module (may that be Wordpress, Piwik, 
RoundCube, several Wiki's and varrious CMS systems) with just a few clicks of 
the mouse.

If the site has suPHP enabled, then the app will be installed in a fashion 
that suPHP is honoured. If the app has particular requirements that your PHP 
must fulfill, it will take care of that during app installation. And on top of 
that: WHAM also handles backup of apps, their SQL databases and allows for 
easy (even automated!) updates of installed and deployed applications.

>From an end user perespective this is certainly a whole new and exciting 
perespective. You get a solution custom tailored to work flawlessly on 
BlueOnyx and which makes sure to take care of all the odds and sods that you 
could imagine. This makes it easy to for you to offer new services to your end 
users and if you're using this commercially, you can add a new value added 
service to them and could charge them extra for it. Even if you don't: Having 
the extra functionality is a competitive advantage for you which could draw 
new clients to you.

Yes, Solarspeed and Compass Networks charge a modest price for the packaging, 
maintaining and updating of the modules. But the value of what you get for 
your money is invalueable when you figure in the time savings, ease of 
installation, ease of usage and added security benefits that you get for your 
purchase. Not only for you as a server administrator, but also for the 
individual end users, as it decreases your support overhead.

Likewise: The sales model that we will be using will allow you to choose if 
you want to go for a one time purchase, or if you want to enter into a 
subscription model where you will also get all updates for the modules in a 
timely fashion. And there are (and will be) bundles, which allow you to pick 
one or more bundles of several popular modules at discounted total price that 
contain several pupular modules.

Now if you need certain packages for multiple servers, then there are always 
bulk deals available from both Compass Networks and Solarspeed. All you need 
to do is to ask. Both Greg and I are very reasonable and easy to work with. We 
will listen to you and will work with you to find the best solution.

Lastly, please realize that BlueOnyx would neither exist (nor would it be 
possible to maintain it) if there was not at least a small income through 
sales of extra software for it. Just this week roughly 30 man hours went into 
patching BlueOnyx to fix some problems and to add new functionality. And it'll 
require another 10-15 hours of work until those patches can finally be 
released.

At the same time that this work was done, I was looking both at a stack of 
pending bills, the number of installed BlueOnyx servers and thought to myself: 
"If I had a dollar a year for each deployed BlueOnyx server, then I wouldn't 
have any problems."

So in closing let me say this: BlueOnyx will always be available free of 
charge, but you'll always be free to do with it as you please. But there are 
of course ways how you can help us to make BlueOnyx better. Either by 
contributing work directly, or by helping us to help you ...

-- 
With best regards

Michael Stauber