You have a strange definition of progress. What I see is a sequential attempts to find momentum. Count the number of partners with packages in Canonical’s partner repository for each Ubuntu release…and trend it. Start with Dapper. There’s no observable progress there. At best new partners have switched in to replace older partners…but the number of active partners has not grown.

You know what sort of promise is important from a partnership standpoint? Its the sort of promise that VSP.NET has made to turnkey to provide monetary support in proportion to the number of customers Turnkey can drive to VSP.NET. I’m actually more hopeful that the TurnKey and VSP.NET partnership will be a long one, than I am about any particular Canonical partnership that involves packages in Canonical’s partner repository. On the same note, the Eucalyptus Systems/Canonical partnership is probably going to be the healthiest Canonical partnership currently on the books because it involves software that is available directly in Ubuntu Universe and not in Canonical’s special partner repository. If Alfresco or OpenBravo’s software ever makes it into universe, I’d call that a solid long term arrangement.

-jef

When an ISV promises to support and OS — and then delivers on that promise — it’s important. Openbravo’s and Alfresco’s decision to assign developer resources focused on Ubuntu is important. Canonical’s continued progress on the server is important.

You bring up a key potential point regarding SugarCRM and I will check it out.

I concede Canonical’s server efforts are a work in progress. But Canonical is, indeed, making progress.

Canonical has had a concept of a partner repository since Dapper and they can’t seem to actually keep partners around for very long.

Remember the Zimbra partner announcement and the associated zdesktop packages in the partner repository cerca 2008? That was a one release partnership for Hardy. Hows that partnership going nowadays?

Remember the SugarCRM partner announcement and the associated packages in the partner repository cerca 2007? You don’t? I do.
Why didn’t SugarCRM re-engage Canonical to have packages included in the partner repository for the Hardy LTS release?

What about Opera you ask? That’s a good question. Introduced in the partner repository for Dapper and made available for multiple Ubuntu releases! Impressive longevity there..except..at some point it was pulled entirely and is no longer available in in the partner repository at all..for any Ubuntu release. Hmm what happened there.

Canonical is a printing press for ISV partnership announcements..none of them have had serious staying power in terms of maintained packages in Canonical’s add-on partner repository. Canonical has not had a good track record keeping partners..in their assigned place. Maybe its because ultimately ISV partners are just looking to have some of Canonical’s buzz rub off on them but long term Canonical’s engineering services are too costly to pay for across multiple Ubuntu releases.

If you want to understand the future of Canonical’s partnership repository efforts…acquaint yourself with the history of the effort all the way back to Dapper and try to understand why specific partnerships haven’t lasted across the LTS timeline. If all you do is watch the press releases pile up you are only getting half the story. Why aren’t the partnerships lasting?

-jef