Case Study | SilverStripe

Windows interoperability creates new markets
and fresh opportunities for open source company

Overview “There’s little doubt in my mind that SilverStripe’s
Region: Asia Pacific
product adoption, credibility and growth have all been
Industry: IT Services
enhanced through our involvement with Microsoft.”
Customer Profile Sigurd Magnusson, Co-founder and Business Relationship Manager,
Based in New Zealand and Australia, SilverStripe
SilverStripe is a web development company
delivering open source content management
systems and development services to Founded in 2000, SilverStripe is an open source web development
businesses throughout Australasia, Europe
and the USA. SilverStripe employs 40
company, delivering content management systems (CMS) and
specialists who work with over 300 public and development services to businesses throughout Australasia,
private sector organisations.
Europe and the USA. A growing number of developers wanted to
Business Situation run its PHP based CMS application, in established and trusted
Following recent commercial success, Microsoft® Windows® environments. Developing a Windows
SilverStripe was prompted to broaden its
target market. As a result, the company compatible version of the CMS would encourage broader
shifted its focus to larger government and adoption of the software. The successful addition of Windows
corporate organizations to ensure long-term
growth. support to SilverStripe CMS has expanded the potential market
for the technology, creating additional opportunities for service
Solution
SilverStripe worked with Microsoft to add
revenue growth. SilverStripe also recently achieved Certification
support for IIS, SQL Server, and Wincache to for Windows Server 2008 R2 – the first truly open source web
the CMS, encouraging easy installation and
powerful performance in a Windows
application to achieve this in the world.
environment.

Benefits
Expanded target markets
Increased revenues
Additional customer confidence
following Certification for Windows
Added value to customers through
integrated systems offering
Reduced deployment time and costs
Enhanced customer experience offering
Increased software adoption

“At least half of Situation source community and find securing
certain large commercial deals a challenge,”
SilverStripe’s Since its establishment in 2000, New said Sigurd Magnusson, Co-founder and
Zealand based website and software Business Relationship Manager at
customers manage development firm, SilverStripe, has gone SilverStripe.
from strength-to-strength, picking up a
predominantly string of awards as one of the fastest “Nearly 40 percent of installations of
Windows Server IT growing technology companies in Asia- SilverStripe CMS are on a Microsoft
Pacific. During this time, the company has platform, so we knew there was high
environments. These become recognised as a leading provider demand for us to officially support Internet
customers are now of commercial open source CMS software.
SilverStripe worked alongside Microsoft in
Information Services, Windows Server and
SQL Server. Some developers had even
able to confidently 2008 to deliver the website for the attempted re-writing the application as a
Democratic National Convention. Built on short term fix – however it continued to be
deploy our software SilverStripe CMS and Microsoft® a source of frustration for them,”
on the Microsoft Silverlight™ technologies, the site attracted
3.2 million visitors and delivered 350,000
Magnusson added.

platform. hours of video in a four-day period. Microsoft offers a broad range of
technologies and solutions, and
In its early years, SilverStripe developed increasingly customers want to use
Sigurd Magnusson, Co-founder proprietary, licensed software but switched solutions from multiple vendors including
and Business Relationship to an open source model in 2006, releasing Open Source. Microsoft is making
Manager, SilverStripe its CMS and application framework to the significant investment in supporting Open
community. The software has since been Source products on its platforms, helping
downloaded more than 300,000 times, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) meet
creating an active community of developers customer requirements and grow their
who have helped to refine and extend the businesses.
base code. SilverStripe couples publicly
available open source applications with As Microsoft continues to invest in this
bespoke PHP development to deliver area, it is actively partnering with
custom-built web properties. companies like SilverStripe, working with
them as they build in support for Microsoft
The company’s recent commercial success platforms and technologies. The
has seen its business aspirations grow, partnerships then work together to
prompting an increased focus on large highlight the benefits found through the
public sector and corporate organisations. improved interoperability, increased
To help SilverStripe as it became a reliability and, ultimately, the power of
competitive player in this market, the choice for end users.
company needed its PHP/MySQL based
CMS system to run effectively on Windows
platforms common among many Solution
businesses and government departments. While SilverStripe recognised the
Overcoming the difficulty of installation importance of developing a Windows
and reduced performance of PHP compatible version of its CMS software, it
applications in Windows environments was had little experience working on the
important for unlocking this target market. Microsoft platform. Fortunately,
SilverStripe’s achievements had captured
“It soon became clear that properly the attention of Microsoft, which
supporting the Microsoft server family was recognised a mutually beneficial
important to our long-term growth. We opportunity for the companies to work
needed our software to install smoothly on together.
the Windows platform and deliver a
compelling user experience. Until we solved “SilverStripe continues to inspire others in
this issue, we would frustrate our open the New Zealand web community and

raises expectations about what can be said Jorke Odolphi, Web Platform Architect,
“IIS matches Apache achieved by a small company with offshore Microsoft Australia.
aspirations. As an active participant in this It soon became apparent that many
for hosting PHP community, Microsoft welcomed the members of the SilverStripe community
applications on opportunity to work with the SilverStripe were running Windows Server® 2003 and
team,” said Nigel Parker, Web Development Windows® XP, which required support for
Windows and also Advisor, Microsoft New Zealand. IIS6.0 and IIS5.0 respectively. This created a
provides additional This understanding led to the formation of
new challenge for SilverStripe, which turned
to Microsoft’s technical experts to help
benefits through a Joint Development Programme (JDP) to determine the best way to achieve
help SilverStripe CMS become fully backwards IIS compatibility.
improved ease of supported on the Windows platform. In
integrating with addition, SilverStripe was accepted into
Microsoft’s BizSpark initiative – an
“Access to expert Microsoft technical staff
and hosted servers allowed SilverStripe to
Microsoft products.” innovative programme that unites start-ups update its CMS product for the Windows
and innovative companies with platform and verify it worked well in a
entrepreneurial and technology resources variety of operating system environments.
Jorke Odolphi, Web Platform to help accelerate business development. In particular, the close interaction between
Architect, Microsoft Australia. the teams was invaluable in helping us to
As part of the JDP, Microsoft delivered follow Microsoft technology best practices,
expert technical support free of charge and carry out the work efficiently, and ensure
provided access to Windows and SQL test that the SilverStripe CMS is fully supported
servers, to assist SilverStripe with the across modern versions of Windows
SilverStripe CMS development process. Almost immediately, operating systems, Windows servers, IIS
SilverStripe saw the potential for the and SQL Server,” added Magnusson.
became the first truly Internet Information Services (IIS) version
Open Source Web 7.5 upgrade in Windows Server® 2008 R2 SilverStripe has subsequently been working
to play a central role in the Windows with Microsoft to further simplify the
Application to achieve version of its CMS product. installation process on Windows, and was
Certification on IIS 7.5 is the latest version of Microsoft’s
invited in May 2009 as one of the first ten
products to be installed with the then-new
Windows Server 2008 web server technology and has been Microsoft Web Platform Installer (WebPI).
specifically designed to allow greater The WebPI was a product developed by
R2. adaptability and customisation. It supports Microsoft to address the growing need to
a range of applications, including those install open source and .NET web
built using PHP, making it a suitable applications on Windows servers.
Microsoft web server for the SilverStripe
CMS. Shortly after this, Microsoft developed
Wincache, a purpose-built tool to speed up
Using the new URL Rewriting support PHP-based applications, and SilverStripe
found in IIS 7.0 and newer versions, has also been verified to run reliably on
SilverStripe was able to deliver the full this.
functionality of its software on a native
Microsoft web server, without relying on In May 2010 SilverStripe 2.4.0 was released,
third-party plug-ins. SilverStripe v2.3.0 was with native support for SQL Server 2008.
released in February 2009, and for the first The installer was upgraded to allow users
time, it could be easily installed on an IIS to easily and conveniently choose SQL
platform. Server as their database.

“IIS matches Apache for hosting PHP With support for Microsoft’s operating
applications on Windows and also provides system, web server and database
additional benefits through improved ease completing the stack, SilverStripe sought
of integrating with Microsoft products,” third party certification to highlight the

best practices used to develop the CMS opens up a diverse new market and
“SilverStripe CMS is software, and the reliability running on will contribute to our plans for sustainable
fully supported across Microsoft platforms and servers. long-term growth. Performance and
reliability of SilverStripe has been proven in
modern versions of SilverStripe achieved certification for production websites as well as through the
Windows Server 2008 R2 in June 2010 from recent certification process,” said
Windows operating Wipro Technologies Limited, one of Magnusson.
systems, Windows Microsoft’s global certification providers. In
doing so, SilverStripe CMS became the first “In addition, interoperability between
servers, IIS, and SQL truly open source web application in the SilverStripe CMS and Windows Server and
world to achieve certification on Windows. SQL Server enables customers to leverage
Server Previously, Microsoft has concentrated on the investments they’ve already made in
certifying native executable software, and Microsoft technology. For example,
the few web applications certified to date customers deploying SilverStripe CMS on
“We are confident have not been open source. Another rare Windows Server have used Microsoft Active
element to the certification process was the Directory to cost-effectively achieve single
that greater inter- SilverStripe application was written in PHP, sign-on functionality. In an economic
operability with the not in the Microsoft .NET programming environment where businesses are focused
environment. on getting the most out of their IT
Windows platform will infrastructure, organisations are attracted
contribute to further Benefits by the ability to do more with less,” added
Magnusson.
success in the years SilverStripe has experienced a number of
benefits since incorporating support for SilverStripe CMS’ support for Windows was
ahead. Windows into its CMS software. In the first central to it securing a significant website
year of running on Windows, there has development contract with one of New
been more than 60,000 downloads of Zealand’s largest local government bodies,
Sigurd Magnusson, Co-founder SilverStripe from www.microsoft.com via the Greater Wellington Regional Council.
and Business Relationship the Web Platform Installer, and there are Greater Wellington operates gw.govt.nz
Manager, SilverStripe thousands more downloading and and metlink.co.nz, heavily trafficked council
installing SilverStripe on Windows without and official public transport sites that
WebPI. The recent support for SQL Server necessitate a stable and reliable content
and achievement of the Certification are management platform.
expected to further drive adoption within
SilverStripe’s commercial markets. '“The recent upgrade of the council’s
official websites (gw.govt.nz and
Securing new opportunities metlink.org.nz) to SilverStripe CMS was a
SilverStripe’s addition of IIS and SQL Server major initiative. Our choice to implement
support to its CMS has opened up a broad the SilverStripe solution was based on it
new market for the company, allowing it to being a user friendly and flexible product.
more effectively engage with the large In addition, it was important we could
commercial and public sector customers consolidate our IT infrastructure on
running Windows Server technologies. As a Windows Server and SQL Server. This
result, the company has expanded the approach delivered simplified management
breadth of its potential market, creating of our websites and meant a centralisation
additional opportunities for service revenue of our web server stack to Microsoft
growth. technology was possible. SilverStripe CMS
having 'Certified for Windows Server' status
“At least half of SilverStripe’s customers is important to Greater Wellington because
manage predominantly Windows IT server it offers confidence that the overall solution
environments. These customers are now is reliable and commercially viable.” said
able to confidently deploy our software on Brett Sangster, communications manager,
the Microsoft platform. The addition of IIS Greater Wellington Regional Council.'
and SQL Server support for SilverStripe

Reduction in deployment time and costs with Microsoft and the recent Certification,
Web PI has significantly eased the according to Magnusson, the work so far is
installation and upgrade path for existing just a hint of things to come.
and future developers of the SilverStripe
software. When building or deploying a “There’s little doubt in my mind that
SilverStripe CMS solution on Windows, the SilverStripe’s product adoption, credibility
Microsoft WebPI enables developers to get and growth have all been enhanced
a new SilverStripe website up and running through our involvement with Microsoft.
in just minutes. We are confident that greater
interoperability with the Windows platform
“Web PI makes installing SilverStripe CMS will contribute to further success in the
easier than ever before. Not only have we years ahead,” Magnusson said.
overcome the performance issues
associated with installing PHP applications
on a Windows platform, but following the
work done with the Microsoft IIS team, the
experience requires far less technical
knowledge than deploying on Linux or
Mac. It’s a complete reversal from the
situation prior to starting the JDP with
Microsoft and I have to admit, it isn’t
something I expected,” said Magnusson.

In addition, SilverStripe CMS was one of
only ten select applications to be included
in the Microsoft Web Application Gallery
when it was launched in March 2009.

“Microsoft handpicked a small sample
of leading PHP and .NET applications to be
part of its new Web Application Gallery,
and SilverStripe CMS was included in this
group because it is a great product with a
passionate user base. We’re delighted by
SilverStripe’s commitment to working with
Microsoft and its focus on delivering a
compelling experience for its CMS
community on IIS,” said Bill Staples General
Manager, Web Platform and Tools,
Microsoft.

“It has been a pleasure working with
SilverStripe through the JDP. The speed at
which it was able to able to create a
Windows version of its product and go to
market has been remarkable. The inclusion
of SilverStripe CMS in the Web Application
Gallery will extend the reach of the
technology,” added Michael Joffe, Senior
Product Manager, PHP on Windows,
Microsoft.

While SilverStripe is excited about the
opportunities created by its involvement

For More Information “Open source” in this document refers to
For more information about Microsoft software that uses a license approved by
the Open Source Initiative and where that
products and services, call the Microsoft
software complies with the Open Source
Sales Information Center at
Definition. For example, that source code
(800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the
for the software must be publicly available,
Microsoft Canada Information Centre at
and able to be redistributed without the
(877) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf payment of royalties. See
or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd
text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at
(800) 892-5234 in the United States or
(905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50
United States and Canada, please contact
your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access
information using the World Wide Web,
go to: www.microsoft.com.

For more information about SilverStripe,
visit: www.silverstripe.com

For more information on Windows Server
2008, visit:
Software & Services
www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008
www.iis.net/ - Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 R2
- Microsoft® Silverlight™
For more information on SQL Server
- Windows Server® 2003
2008 R2, visit:
- Windows Server® 2008 R2
www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/u
- Windows® 7
s/r2.aspx
- Windows® Vista
- Windows® XP
For more information on Internet
- Internet Information Services version 7.5
Information Services, visit:
www.iis.net/
To download the Web Platform Installer,
- Microsoft Active Directory™
visit:
- Web Platform Installer
http://www.microsoft.com/web/downloa
- Certified for Windows Server 2008 R2
ds/platform.aspx
- Microsoft WinCache 2.0
- Web Application Gallery
To visit the Window Web Application
Gallery, visit:
www.microsoft.com/web/gallery/

This case study is for informational purposes only.
MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published March 2009

Case Study | SilverStripe

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