Those of us with any knowledge of the software industry would question statements aligning open source applications with Microsoft Products. Even more unusual is the fact that a new product from Microsoft which has recently come to market, actively promotes the use of open source applications to be run from its new web development platform. Strange as this may seem Microsoft’s new WebMatrix application is basing much of their marketing efforts of this product through the promotion of open source solutions which traditionally did not blend well with anything from the leader in licensed software.

For those of you that don’t know what open source applications are let me offer a brief description. Open Source Software “OSS” is that which is available in source code form and the source code as well as certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders, are provided under a license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software free of charge. Some of the more popular open source applications you may recognize are, WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and Sugar CRM.

Before I discuss anything more about this phenomenon of Microsoft promoting open source software, I want to first explain what WebMatrix is and what it is capable of providing. WebMatrix connects you to a world of popular and free open-source Web applications, including DotNetNuke, Drupal, Umbraco, WordPress, Joomla and more. Once installed on just about any windows operating system, you simply select an application from the templates available or select from the built-in open source application gallery, and WebMatrix handles the downloading and installation of your new Web site. The days of hand-editing configuration files and making sure you have all the right components are long gone. Customize your site using the built in code editor and make it your own.

Why is this happening? What is the benefit to Microsoft? I am of the opinion that because many of these open source solutions such as WordPress, Drupal and Joomla are becoming so popular it is changing the culture of the industry and becoming more accepted that many of these solutions are every bit as capable as their more highly publicized licensed counterparts including many Microsoft products. Now by bundling many of the most popular open source offerings into a very user friendly web management platform, Microsoft gains the best of both worlds. By leveraging the consumer awareness surrounding the OSS products along with the branding of Microsoft it further legitimizes their acceptance and Microsoft still gets to participate as the developer of the platform. Oh and please be aware, WebMatrix at this point in time is a free application available to anyone, no strings attached. Don’t worry, I am sure as the leading software company in the World they will somehow be benefiting from this application release.

Microsoft is currently running promotions with many of its partners including Turnkey Internet to bring brand name awareness to this exciting new application. To find out how you can take advantage of the of discounted pricing by bundling WebMatrix with other offerings visit WebMatrix at TurnKey.