Interface21, which now goes by SpringSource, is looking to add a little bounce to its business by buying fellow open-source company Covalent Technologies.
SpringSource, which announced the acquisition Tuesday, develops a popular open-source tool called Spring Framework designed to help accelerate the development of Java applications for enterprise servers.
With the acquisition, SpringSource is looking to build on Covalent's products and services that target Apache Software Foundation open-source projects, such as the Apache Tomcat Application Server and Apache Geronimo Application Server. Both companies derive revenues from selling support services.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. But it's unlikely that SpringSource used up all of the $10 million it raised in venture funding last May to do the deal.
In summing up the benefits of the merger, Rod Johnson, SpringSource's chief executive, noted in his blog: "Not only does Covalent bring Apache leadership, but our combined company now has significant leadership on Apache Tomcat and HTTP. Two weeks ago, Sun paid $1 (billion) for the "M" in LAMP. Now that Covalent's outstanding Apache expertise and services are part of SpringSource, we are strong leaders in the "A."
The "M" Johnson is referring to is Sun Microsystem's megabuyout deal of open-source database company MySQL. And the "A," of course, is for Apache. Both are part of the popular open-source development products referred to as LAMP, which stands for Linux, Apache Web server, MySQL, and the PHP development language that is used by enterprise companies and on the Internet.
The acquisition is designed to enable the combined company to become a one-stop shop, providing open-source products and services to quickly develop, test, deploy, and run enterprise applications using Apache Software Foundation projects and SpringSource's Spring Portfolio.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--When starting a business, it's important to create a product that solves a problem. A small start-up is tackling a big dilemma: 2 billion people in the world don't have access to electricity.
Here at Launch: Silicon Valley at the Microsoft campus, 30 start-ups are pitching social-media products or software as a service. D.light Design is thinking a bit more globally.
(Credit:
Erica Ogg/CNET News.com)
D.light Design was born out of a Stanford University class project, and it currently has five employees. Chief Executive Sam Goldman spent four years in the Peace Corps in West Africa, where he says he lived with a family that used kerosene lamps to light its home after sundown. Goldman discovered firsthand that not only are the lamps dangerous--one of the children was permanently disfigured in a kerosene fire--they're an investment, requiring up to 30 percent of the family's income.
The result of Goldman's experience is the Forever-Bright, a prototype light-emitting diode (LED)-based device that he showed off to investors and media at SVASE.
The product is a small, white box that doubles as a light and power source. D.light says the final product will last five years and is chargeable off any power source, including solar power, 110- or 220-volt grids, and diesel generators. There will be power jacks in the back for powering other devices, such as cell phones. The Forever-Bright will launch in parts of India and Pakistan next month, Goldman said.
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