Earlier this week, we released Platypus 6.1, the latest version of our software package built specifically for ISPs and web hosts to automate billing, invoicing, and customer management.

In this version we’ve added ready-to-use support for the new and improved Tucows Email Service. We’re pretty excited about being able to offer Platypus customers fully integrated access to our email service. Platypus 6.1 is also a comprehensive maintenance release, and includes enhanced support for Microsoft Windows Vista.

With this release Platypus customers can:

• Integrate the creation of Tucows Email accounts into the account creation process
• Manage Tucows Email services from within Platypus
• Offer variable packages – choose to bundle email with some services, or bill for it with others

It also means your customers can use the self-help customer web interface to:

• Create and delete Tucows Email Service accounts
• Buy domains for use with Tucows Email Service
• Access their Tucows web mail with a convenient direct link

Current Platypus customers can upgrade to Platypus 6.1 through the Platypus support site. If you want to see what Platypus can do for your business, whether you’re a web host or ISP, a free 30-day trial is available. Current Platypus customers looking for more information on how Tucows Email Service could work for them can find out more here.

Tucows is looking to change the way customers sell our services. Over the past few months, my team and I have been challenged to update our enabler offerings. We have focused on developing tools that can be easily integrated into existing sites while remaining upgradeable. Looking back at the enablers we have provided in the past, we have a good idea of what has worked and what hasn’t. As we look for the new direction for enablers, let’s take a look at some of the solutions we have provided in the past and discuss where we would like to go in the future.

The Past

While the Reseller Code Library (RCL) provided a quick integration method for registering, renewing and managing domains, for most of you, selling a domain is no longer the primary goal. You need to integrate the registration of domains into the sales process for web hosting, email, or ecommerce applications. Many customers have found themselves tailoring a domain registration system to bill for services that were recurring, sometimes going as far as only offering yearly hosting plans so that renewal coincided with domain renewals. As RCL evolved, upgradeability became an issue. As Tucows offered enhancements to RCL, many customers were slow to adopt new versions as it required them to reintegrate with each release.

In an effort to provide a modern interface in an upgradeable package, Tucows introduced the Client Code Suite (CCS). CCS was designed so that modules could be turned on or off via a configuration file. It provided hooks for billing applications and upgradeability that was missing in the RCL. However, CCS was too complicated in many ways. It was too difficult to install, too difficult to modify and most of all, too difficult to integrate into your existing business.

We provided an application that while may have worked out of the box, provided no more functionality than that of RCL and required a skilled developer to modify.

Both RCL and CCS suffered from “Center of the World Syndrome”. This syndrome caused us to believe it was our responsibility to define the way you would run your business. Both RCL and CCS believed that they were in charge of the domain registration process and everything that went with it from provisioning to billing. The problem was that neither provided customization without a price.

The Future

When you consider the “Center of the World Syndrome”, it is easy to see what Tucows should provide. Our customers have business models that don’t consist entirely of the sales of Tucows services. We provide just a piece of what you are offering and we feel like that is the direction for pre-built enablers as well. That is why we are looking to distribute “pluggable components” for each Tucows service.

Our Component Goals:

• Pluggable – Provision services on your existing site with just a few lines of code
• Integrated – Add the provisioning into existing processes such as the sale of hosting
• Upgradeable - Take advantage of the latest Tucows innovations without having to modify the integration.

Both RCL and CCS will be phased out. RCL hasn’t been updated in more than a year and will only remain until the new components are available. CCS will be repositioned as a Platypus only product as it has already been integrated with the Platypus web interfaces.

Your Feedback

We are excited about our new approach and will be relying upon the community for feedback once the tech preview has been created. When the tech preview is nearing completion, we will be looking for customers to participate in our labs program to provide feedback as to how the new components fit into their existing business model. We look forward to you being a part of the new direction for enablers.