Software Testing Tools Blog – Testertools

LAFAYETTE, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–nSyte Software, a Colorado start-up specializing in software testing tools,  announce the launch of its new product called nQuire which will help software development companies audit code real-time to proactively address the potential inadvertent use of licensed open source software.

“There’s nothing wrong with utilizing free open source code”

Use of open source software has exploded in recent years among software development companies of all sizes. Pressure on companies to keep software development costs low and meet demanding development deadlines has resulted in more programmers looking for ways to crunch more code in less time. The result is that more proprietary software may inadvertently contain open source code, much of which is subject differing and often cumbersome license agreements.

“There’s nothing wrong with utilizing free open source code,” states Philip Bice, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for nSyte Software. “The issue gets tricky, however, when a company needs to certify that there either isn’t any open source in their product or that they have complied with all necessary licensing terms when open source has been used. Ignorance isn’t an excuse and stating that you are compliant only to find out that is not the case can be a costly mistake, both legally as well as from a product reengineering perspective,” he adds.

Many outsourced software developers have contracts requiring them to provide details of any known open source software used during development. “We’re keenly interested in a product that will raise any red flags about the use of open source software during a project and not months or years later after we’ve invested thousands of programming hours,” says Ryan Shuttleworth, CEO of Cobalt Storm, a SaaS development shop based in the United Kingdom. “Getting an accurate view of any open source code in a few seconds is a massive time saver and risk reducer. The cost of getting it wrong is very high,” he adds.

While Bice admits that other open source code auditing tools exist, he points out that most of them stress a one-time review after a program has been completed. “Our nQuire tool is quite unique in that it provides a highly cost effective way to audit software code real-time during development in order to help companies proactively manage any open source licensing issues before it becomes a problem,” he says. It’s an approach, nSyte Software believes, that promises to save some companies tens of thousands in reprogramming dollars while keeping companies legally compliant on a continual basis.

The nQuire audit tool works by comparing program coding to date against a database of thousands of the latest known open source software – either on an ad hoc basis or each time a software build is triggered. Any open source code used can be quickly identified to determine what, if any, work-around is required in order to avoid potential open source software licensing issues. Because nQuire is a subscription based software audit tool, software developers of all sizes will pay as little as $250 per month to get the protection they need to be legally compliant with open source code licensing. According to Bice, the competition charges as much as $20,000 for a one-time opens source software audit, making nSyte’s tool a much more affordable alternative.

The launch of nQuire could not come at a better time. With over 50,000 software development companies and $220 billion in annual software revenues in the U.S. according to Hoover’s, Bice expects first-time subscriptions for nQuire’s on-demand software auditing to be robust. “Informal discussions I’ve had with CIOs of several large corporations point to a growing concern over the use of open source software,” he says. “A few of them have even admitted that because of the sheer enormity of their company’s software code they have absolutely no idea how much open source could be in use.”

nSyte Software is betting that the peace-of-mind, sleep-better-at-night factor of nQuire will prompt many software development companies to finally take a proactive approach toward managing the use of open source code during development and not afterward. So far, early market analysis is positive and suggests a majority of software development companies would easily adopt a true code auditing tool if it were both easy to use and affordable. Because nQuire is a cloud-based solution and requires no up-front investment, that should not be a problem. Indeed, nSyte Software is quietly confident they have the right tool with the right subscription pricing to address a risk that’s much on the minds of CIOs having trouble falling asleep at night.

About nSyte Software

nSyte Software offers best of breed tools and services focused on helping organizations to identify inefficiencies in their software development, quality assurance and project management processes, to implement the right tools to build higher quality software and to improve their time to market, in a manner more responsive to customer needs. nSyte Software makes its customers more successful and more profitable by only offering tools and services capable of demonstrating a quick return on investment. It is an approach that sets nSyte Software apart from the competition and has been proven effective in serving businesses of all sizes, from independent development shops to Fortune 500 organizations.

Visit www.nsytesoftware.com for more information.