Why do some open source companies create their own software distribution?

from external blog: http://coppola.rsmart.com/2010/12/20/why-do-some-open-source-companies-create-their-own-software-distribution/

In my role with rSmart I regularly engage in conversations about rSmart’s approach to solving the last mile problem for the Sakai and Kuali communities.

Our approach, like Red Hat, Moodlerooms, and other open source software companies, includes participating actively as a part of these communities, developing a product based on the community software, and engaging with the market to facilitate widespread adoption.

Deploying different instances of the KFS with different CAS configurations

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We've come up with a way to deploy different instances of the KFS (such as test, production, and development) such that only the production deployment is configured to use the production CAS, while dev & test use the builtin CAS that comes with KFS. Most institutions want single sign-on in their production system but not in their test or development system. At San Joaquin Delta College we've addressed the differing CAS configurations by creating multiple versions of the source code file in which CAS is configured (web.xml). The build uses a different file depending on which instance is being built. This approach has saved us a lot of time because we don't have to change the code in this file each time we build.

Mike DeSimone
Sr. Technical Consultant
rSmart

KFS Accounting Line Import Feature Helps You Work Efficiently

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As I explained in earlier posts, global e-docs are among the most helpful features in the Kuali Financial System. Another time-saving feature of the system is mass import of accounting lines and other data. This feature is especially helpful when users have multiple lines of accounting data to enter and do not want to enter each line separately. Using this feature, they can quickly enter data into an import template and then upload it into the appropriate electronic document.

NACUBO Article Reports on Kuali Financial System Implementation Successes

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Publication of Anna-Louise Jackson's insightful article, "Going for the Bold" (Business Officer Magazine, February 2010), confirms what the Kuali Community has long contended—that collaboratively developed administrative software provides enormous benefit to higher education institutions of all types and sizes.