Many companies looking for an inexpensive marketing automation solution, embark on the adventure of Open Source with Mautic with the idea that Open Source (open application code) is free. This is partially correct. It is very easy to download the entire code (hosted on GitHub, here is our fork) which technically allows to have the application free of charge. However, Mautic is a marketing automation software very rich in features and technically rather complex to manage. To this is added (according to your expectations) rather strong accommodation constraints.
In this article, we will detail the costs and resources to consider when you start hosting the Open Source version of Mautic.
The operation of an Open Source service vs. SaaS
When you subscribe to a SaaS marketing automation software such as Hubspot, Marketo, Pardot or Webmecanik, you benefit from a number of services associated with the software itself. In a way, the software is only part of the price of your subscription. Considering the Open Source side, you need to host it by yourself, and even find solutions to overcome these non-existing services in an Open Source undertaking.
These associated services may be expensive to produce in time, energy or money if you purchase them from third parties (IT service companies or agencies). So to make your Mautic Open Source version sustainable, consider adding the following list of services in your cost estimation:
The infrastructure to host Mautic
- A server (at least) to run the application
- A redundant service to avoid outages
- Possibly a tail system and/or load balancer to handle the load
- A network linking these different machines
Software maintenance
- Marketing automation software to keep up to date
- An operational system to keep up to date
- The entire stack to run the software (database, PhP, etc.) to be also updated
Application maintenance
- Mautic basically has an update every month to be managed. This involves making backups before updating it and possibly troubleshooting it in case of bugs
- Installation and configuration of the plugins you want to implement
- Security management
- Functional development and bug fixes not taken care by the community
- Set-up a backup system
- Restoration of services after outages
Essential services to the proper functioning of marketing automation
- An email router
- Possibly an SMS router (and other channels that you may use that also have a cost)
- Implementation of the first campaigns and training of your teams
And yes, that’s quite a lot of work. When you click on a button to open a SaaS account you do not realize it, but there is some non-visible work provided by the software publisher/host. It is also important to highlight that you will need a team with a diverse range of skills ready in order to be sure that your marketing automation service works. In Mautic’s case, you will need at least:
- PhP / SQL (Symfony will be very useful)
- DevOps for server management
- Marketing
Moreover, the availability of your service (SLA) is more important than you think. I emphasize the importance of having these resources available. Indeed, once your forms are online, the slightest failure could lead you to lose business opportunities and damage your credibility.
The alternative to full Open Source or full SaaS
This alternative is the choice we made at Webmecanik on Mautic. We are working 100% on this Open Source project and this makes us after 4 years that the project exists, the main contributor alongside Mautic corp.
Webmecanik is an Open Source solution, pre-packaged with all the services listed and maintained in SaaS. You easily have access to the most scalable and flexible solution on the market (this is one main advantage of Open Source vs. proprietary technologies) while benefiting from the support and service of a SaaS solution with an SLA greater than 99.99%.
More than 350 companies and 70 agencies chose this path
In 4 years, we had the opportunity to face the dilemma “but we can do it by ourselves!”. That’s right! On the other hand, do not start this endeavor without anticipating the list of associated costs and resources. In addition, many users of Mautic Open Source have already joined us, their main reasons being the lack of support and not having the time to manage their maintenance themselves. It is true that when your job is to develop high-precision dental prostheses, you do not necessarily have the time and resources to take care of the maintenance of a third-party software. It would be losing your energy on a side-activity.
We also had the chance to meet agencies also facing these problems. Agencies that are now proud to be displayed among our expert partners in marketing automation. We take care of the technical side and they do the strategic accompaniment of their customers.
