SilverStripe expands into Australia

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First English language book on the platform to be released

By Rob O'Neill | Auckland | Friday, 4 September, 2009

Wellington-based open source content management system (CMS) developer SilverStripe has opened operations in Melbourne and already has three staff on the ground.

CEO Brian Calhoun says SilverStripe is seeing increased global demand and Australia is a natural extension for a New Zealand company. Potential customers have been seeking SilverStripe support there, he says, and the company was losing business due to the lack of a presence.

The office came about organically, Calhoun says, after SilverStripe was contacted by Australian CMS specialist Shane Weddell. The other staff are developers Weddell has been working with.

The new operation has majority Australian ownership, Calhoun says.

"They are chasing gigs in Australia and putting out proposals. There are some very strong leads and we are quite optimistic."

Calhoun says potential customers often seek services to customise or implement the SilverStripe platform. These requests can be referred to partners, of which SilverStripe has seven globally.

But the company wanted an even stronger bond with its Australian operation.

"At core it's a similar concept, delivering custom versions of SilverStripe installations," he says.

SilverStripe has now been downloaded more than 200,000 times since it was released to open source two and a half years ago. The first book on the platform, SilverStripe: Das umfassende Handbuch, appeared in German and is now being translated into English and available on pre-order from Amazon.