Nagios Enterprises: Inception, Ideals, and Vision

November 9, 2007

I don’t think I could ask for a better job than the one I currently have with my work on Nagios. I love every aspect of participating in the project: solving the technical challenges, interacting with the community, and yes - even squashing the devious bugs that creep in from time to time.

The rise in popularity of the Nagios project over the past 9 years has been both exciting and challenging for me. In 2005, due to increasing demands on my time, I finally made the decision to leave my day job for something I enjoyed much better - Nagios. That decision prompted me to find ways to support myself and my development time, so I could continue my work on the project.

I realize that I’m not the only one who’s run into this problem when participating in an Open Source project. Developers of other projects have been faced with similar challenges, forcing them to choose between supporting themselves and supporting their projects. This needs to change and I intend to be instrumental in helping to create that reality.

After spending several months evaluating commercialization options, investigating possible partnerships, and talking with Nagios community members and leaders of other Open Source projects, I have decided to form Nagios Enterprises and step into the world of commercialization.

By generating revenue through the provision of commercial services and products, I am convinced that Nagios Enterprises can play an important role in helping both the Nagios project and community. Supporting development, accelerating release timelines, helping to promote awareness and advocacy, and ensuring long-term project viability are all things that can be more easily accomplished with funding.

I am aware of the the fine line that both I and the company must walk between the efforts of commercialization and the support of the Nagios project. I want it to be known that I hold the Nagios community in the highest regard, and I will endeavor to ensure that we operate in a manner that is respectful of the community at every step.

I realize the path that lies ahead for us will not always be clear or without its occasional bumps, yet I’m excited to embrace the unknown and see what great things we can accomplish moving forward.

- Ethan Galstad