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OpenLogic preparing open source software discovery tool
April 30, 2007

While there are a number of tools on the market that enable users to identify whether they are using their open source software in a manner appropriate to corporate licensing and usage policies, that doesn’t really help if the business is unaware that open source is being used in the first place.

You can’t monitor what you can’t identify, and in an attempt to solve that problem for enterprises OpenLogic is launching a new tool that helps inventory open source software usage within a business.

According to the company, OpenLogic Discovery “finds installed open source software on Windows, Linux and Solaris platforms in order to help enterprise customers manage their use of open source and remain compliant with internal policies”.

"Because open source is often downloaded by individual developers, most enterprises do not know what open source software is deployed in their organization," said Steve Grandchamp, CEO of OpenLogic. "Open source software has revolutionized corporate software development for the better, but there can be risks, costs and liabilities if the enterprise doesn't know what open source software is being deployed. OpenLogic Discovery enables companies to become more aware of open source usage in their IT environment and better manage some of those risks."

The tool identifies software by digital fingerprints, comparing them to OpenLogic’s library of 800 of the most commonly used open source packages.

The tool is expected to be available as a free download in June.