14 DAY TRIAL // Firefox was the source of some controversy last week, when it became clear to everyone that Firefox 4 will not be supported beyond the launch date of Firefox 5. For regular users, that's pretty much irrelevant, for enterprise though, it's a big change since it means that they won't be able to deploy Firefox 4 or any other future Firefox for that matter.
Mozilla was pretty tough on the issue, it believed that its focus was on the regular user and that it didn't have the resources to cater to the enterprise front.
Naturally, this wasn't received well, while the number of enterprise users pales in comparison to regular users, there are 500,000 Firefox users at IBM alone.
It now seems that the initial tone has softened somewhat and that Mozilla has started working with interested parties to arrive at a solution which will continue to make Firefox a relevant proposition for the enterprise environment, while also making sure that Mozilla's already strained resources don't get wasted.
"We are exploring solutions that balance these needs, with active discussion in our community, including valuable input from IBM. Open Source software is well-suited to these challenges, as interested parties can come together to build what is needed," Firefox's VP of product Jay Sullivan writes in a post on the Mozilla blog.
"We look forward to continuing the dialog, and will post updates as they become available," he adds.
Initially, Mozilla took a rather hard line and a blunt tone, telling enterprise customers that they weren't important and that it didn't have the resources to support them. But now, Mozilla is recognizing that there enterprise users are valuable as well.
"The Mozilla Community has focused our efforts on the needs of the individual user, and prioritized the product roadmap and features accordingly," Sullivan wrote.
"However, as is the case with many technologies, loyal Firefox users and their IT departments, have sought to bring Firefox into their places of work," he added.
Granted, Mozilla didn't offer any solution, but the simple fact that there are discussions is encouraging. Most likely, a way of ensuring that enterprise customers are catered to can be found. Perhaps, IBM can spare two or three engineers from its 500,000 employees to help Mozilla out.