AdViking

In case you don’t know, OpenX, is a UK-based start-up that recently received a SeriesB $15 million injection. They are taking a successful open-source ad serving platform (History of the project/company is: PHPAds, PHPAdsNews, Max Media Manager) and applying a RedHat/MySQL approach to commercialising the opportunity.

Scott Switzer is founder and CTO and his post on why Google Ad Manager is a threat to Publishers is well-rounded and recommended reading. What’s exciting is that Google Ad Manager completely validates the need for an indy platform like OpenX, which is even more exciting as the software is open-source. That is it’s been built and is being built in the bazaar of the online Publishers rather than the cathedrals of software development. This then naturally leads one to suggest that if OpenX does get established and then builds out an Exchange/Network on top, the very fact that it’s been created in a marketplace can only be beneficial to all involved.

ReadWriteWeb have an excellent interview with Switzer that provides some further flesh to the OpenX approach to the ad serving space.