Does Open Source IT Management Drive Loyalty? It Does for Spiceworks

Spiceworks is an Austin, Texas based information technology management software company that has found phenomenal success by following a “Google business model”.  Founded in 2006, Spiceworks provides free (Open Source) IT systems management software and an online community where IT professionals can interact.  Think Facebook with an IT theme and you will get the picture.

The software is free to the user because Spiceworks sells advertising to vendors of business technologies and software through the community interface.  These vendors represent the latest trends in business technology for small to medium sized companies and find an ideally targeted market within the Spiceworks community.  Spiceworks is presently supported by approximately 100 such advertisers. The online community is a boon to IT staff who can go there to read about and discuss the topics most pertinent to them. They can ask questions, offer and receive responses, and generally share IT insights with other professionals. This online business community is a favorite component of the Spiceworks software package.

Just how well this open source IT management business model is working for Spiceworks can be told by the numbers. When Spiceworks began in 2006, it set itself a target of signing 3,000 users like yourself within its first year of operation.  However, instead of the projected 3,000, the company had an astounding 32,000 clients in 60 countries by the end of that time frame. The numbers as of March 2011 were 1.4 million users in almost 200 countries!

What Customers Love about Spiceworks

Users find Spiceworks to be a wonderful combination of capability and cost control.  Common experience often shows that free equals inferior.  However, Spiceworks users strongly disagree.  Customer comments run along similar themes:  Love the product and the price (no charge)!

Spiceworks customers run the gamut from non-profit organizations to small or mid-sized companies and all are happy to sing the praises of this open source help desk solution.  Here are some of the things they love:

• Programmers are responsive to user feedback

• Though free, it provides a complete IT system for monitoring and management

• Provides a high degree of versatility for small businesses

• Conveniently and smartly compiles information

• Delivers task functionalities such as: inventory tracking & management; helpful alerts, help desk organization and vendor management

• Change management log as a valuable resource when troubleshooting

• A professional community that is both helpful and sociable

During a period when every business dollar must count, Spiceworks represents an IT treasure chest.  Customers are not only pleased with the product – they rave about it.  Spiceworks clients are delighted with the quality of the software product which exceeds expectations in providing their business a powerful management tool.  And, they appear equally enthusiastic about the community format.  Small wonder that this software product is touted as an enterprise IT management favorite.  Spicework’s satisfied clientele seems determined to spread the word.