Assembla, which makes collaborative workspaces for software development teams, has added a version you can download in order to run private installations. Every day, more pure play SaaS vendors in the collaboration space appear, but Assembla is a startup that also offers a robust self-hosted version as well.
Assembla is a wide-ranging software package for distributed teams: there are browsers for Git and Subversion code repositories, project management, activity streams, as well as ticketing, bug tracking, and issue management. In addition to the download that’s now available, you can get a free public space or a private instance on EC2.
The downloadable package runs as a VMware virtual appliance and includes the full source code and development kit. It’s also the only option with LDAP integration and unlimited project spaces, which should make it extra appealing to development teams in larger enterprises.
The new private offering by Assembla mimics the strategy that some of the most successful vendors of collaboration software — such as Atlassian, Jive, Socialtext, and Mindtouch — are taking with their products. By providing the full range of choices, from free and public to behind the firewall, Assembla is making a smart choice.
