News – OTOBO

Open Kernel – OTOBO Enterprise Partner in Hungary

Pia Cebic — Wed, 06 May 2026 15:49:03 +0000

NEWS | COMPANY

Open Kernel – New OTOBO Enterprise Partner in Central and Eastern Europe

OTOBO welcomes Open Kernel, an experienced service management team with a strong focus on open-source solutions, as new Enterprise Partner

Open Kernel – the former OTRS Hungary team – has been active in service management since 2014 and brings extensive experience from the OTRS ecosystem, including complex implementations and customisations. Now, as an independent company, they provide open-source customer service solutions to clients in Hungary and beyond.

New Chapter for Former OTRS Hungary Team

Since January 2026, the former OTRS Hungary team has been operating as the independent consulting company Open Kernel. With over a decade of experience, the team combines technical implementation expertise with business and process know-how and includes specialists in coaching, information security, business administration and product ownership, as well as ITIL®-certified professionals.

While the organisational setup has changed, their core focus remains unchanged: improving communication between organisations and their customers – now with a clear focus on open-source solutions. They support organisations in improving service quality, helping them respond faster and deliver a better customer experience.

„Open source gives organisations the flexibility and independence they need to build affordable, sustainable service management solutions.“

László Gyaraki, Managing Director, Open Kernel

Typical projects include implementing and consulting on service management platforms, system migrations and introducing structured ITSM practices such as SLA management and service automation to automate workflows and improve response times.

Open-Source Commitment and Active Contribution

With the launch of Open Kernel, the team decided to focus on open-source service management solutions – and to actively engage with OTOBO.

They value OTOBO’s open-source model, its active community and the flexibility of the platform, which allows organisations to adapt it to their specific requirements:

„With OTOBO, we see a strong, stable and fast-growing platform, as well as a maintainer and community that share this vision.”

László Gyaraki, Managing Director, Open Kernel

This approach has long been an integral part of their work. Their experience in contributing to projects and working in collaborative communities now strengthens the OTOBO project.

Open Kernel already contributes to documentation and translations – areas where the team brings long-standing experience from previous roles. By doing so, they help improve accessibility, expand translations and further develop the platform.

Strengthening the OTOBO Partner Network

With their experience in service management and a strong focus on open-source solutions, Open Kernel strengthens the OTOBO partner network in Central and Eastern Europe.

„The Open Kernel team combines deep service management expertise with a genuine commitment to open source. Their technical know-how and long-standing experience make them a strong partner and valuable addition to the Community.”

Stefan Rother, CEO at Rother OSS GmbH | Team OTOBO

Together with Open Kernel, OTOBO continues to expand its ecosystem – sharing expertise and driving the development of modern service management by promoting individual solutions based on common practice.

We look forward to working closely with Open Kernel. A very warm welcome to the partner community!

Robotico Digital – New OTOBO Partner in Asia

Pia Cebic — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:00:36 +0000

NEWS | COMPANY

Robotico Digital – New OTOBO Partner in Asia

A strong start to the new year – we are pleased to welcome Robotico Digital as first OTOBO partner in the Asia-Pacific region.

Founded in 2020, Robotico Digital operates internationally with offices in Malaysia, Singapore, and India. The team brings more than ten years of experience in IT service management, along with deep expertise in delivering software projects across a wide range of industries.

Robotico Digital supports customers throughout the APAC region – including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines – as well as in the United States. The company focuses on application development, automation, robotic process automation (RPA), IT consulting, quality assurance, and managed testing.

Long-standing experience

The team brings more than ten years of experience in IT service management, along with deep expertise in delivering software projects across a wide range of industries. Since 2009, the team at Robotico Digital has been working with OTRS and OTOBO systems. Today, around 20 team members are actively involved in customer and internal projects on the platform.

OTOBO is particularly valued for its flexibility. Its modular architecture, with freely combinable add-on modules, enables tailored deployments for a wide range of requirements – from classic ticketing to structured SLA management.

„We have been working closely with OTRS and OTOBO for many years and use the platform across a wide range of projects. Through this partnership, we aim to contribute our experience and developments more actively to OTOBO.“

Swapnil, Technical Architect at Robotico Digital

Open-source innovation through collaboration

Another key aspect is the open source principle itself: OTOBO’s community-driven development model aligns closely with Robotico Digital’s commitment to not only use software but actively shape it.

Through the partnership, they aim to contribute their experience, extensions, and ideas directly to the project – actively supporting and strengthening the open source community.

„We plan to collaborate on new plug-ins and integrations, providing long-term, reliable support to customers in the APAC region, and help further establish OTOBO across the region.”

Swapnil, Technical Architekt at Robotico Digital

A long-term vision

Reliable framework conditions are essential to this approach. OTOBO’s active community, growing ecosystem, and clear product roadmap ensure continuous innovation, ongoing enhancements, and long-term platform stability.

For Robotico Digital, this combination provides a strong foundation for operating customer solutions sustainably and continuously evolving them over time.

“We have been working closely with OTRS and OTOBO for many years and use the platform across a wide range of projects. Through this partnership, we aim to contribute our experience and developments more actively to OTOBO. We plan to collaborate on new plug-ins and integrations, providing long-term, reliable support to customers in the APAC region, and help further establish OTOBO across the region,” says Swapnil, Technical Architect at Robotico Digital.

Closer collaboration, stronger exchange, greater value

Robotico Digital shares the conviction that true innovation emerges from openness, collaboration, and active exchange within a strong community. OTOBO’s community-driven development approach fits perfectly with the company’s commitment to building and sharing transparent, extensible solutions.

As an OTOBO Qualified Partner, Robotico Digital supports organizations in Asia and the United States with the introduction of OTOBO, advises on optimal usage, supports day-to-day operations, and implements custom feature add-ons. In the APAC region, the company also strengthens direct exchange between users and the OTOBO community.

„With Robotico Digital, we have a partner by our side who shares our values, strengthens the open source project, and supports customers in the APAC region with deep technical expertise and outstanding service.“

Stefan Rother, CEO at OTOBO

We look forward to expanding our collaboration with Robotico Digital and shaping the future of service management with OTOBO together – focusing on cooperation, reliability and practical value for users.

Welcome to the OTOBO partner network, Robotico Digital!

OTOBO in the OSBA – achieving more together

Pia Cebic — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 10:11:40 +0000

NEWS | COMPANY

OTOBO in the OSBA – achieving more together

We are very pleased to have been an official member of the Open Source Business Alliance (OSBA) – the Federal Association for Digital Sovereignty – since November 2025.

With more than 250 member organizations, the OSBA is the largest network of open-source stakeholders in Germany. It brings together software vendors, IT service providers, start-ups, public authorities, research institutions, and committed individuals—united by the shared belief that open-source software plays a key role in a self-determined digital society.

The OSBA connects these voices, strengthens their impact in political discussions, and creates space for exchange—on a technical, strategic, and very practical level. This combination of a clear stance, open dialogue, and hands-on work convinced us: this is where we want to contribute.

Why Open Source Is More Than a Licensing Model for Us

This membership is a logical step for us: OTOBO is not an open service management platform by chance. Open standards, transparency, and genuine collaboration are the foundation and starting point of our work.

We forked OTOBO because opportunities for the community to actively contribute to the predecessor project were increasingly restricted—out of conviction and well before its end of life. Our goal was clear: to build a fully open-source service management solution with a strong and active community.

For us, open source means more than making code publicly available. It means thinking about development collaboratively and sharing responsibility—both in customer projects and in our partnerships. In everyday practice, this means implementing features in a way that fits the standard whenever possible, so everyone can benefit. It means sharing effort across many shoulders and developing things once instead of multiple times in parallel.

Then as now, this principle applies: OTOBO is and remains 100% open source and free of license costs. There is no business edition, no paid add-ons, and no hidden limitations.

Of course, a different business model might generate higher profits. But for us, it is equally important to act responsibly, sustainably, and with the common good in mind.

What This Has to Do with Digital Sovereignty

Digital sovereignty is a term that is used frequently—and often remains abstract. For us, it is very concrete.

Digital sovereignty means retaining control over your own systems and data. Knowing what your software does. Deciding where it runs. And avoiding dependencies that are difficult—or impossible—to escape.

Especially today, this is not a theoretical ideal but a practical necessity. For public administrations and critical infrastructures, but also for companies and individuals. Those who do not understand their technical dependencies today will pay the price tomorrow—financially, organizationally, or politically.

Open source is not a cure-all, but it is a crucial prerequisite. Open-source software creates transparency. It enables choice. It allows adaptation and gives users the freedom to make informed, self-determined decisions.

For us as a software provider, digital sovereignty also means taking responsibility: for maintainable software, for long-term development, and for an ecosystem focused not on short-term gains but on sustainability.

That is why, in further development, we make sure to implement individual requirements in ways that strengthen the overall standard—instead of creating custom solutions that lead to long-term dependencies. The result is software that uses resources efficiently and genuinely supports independence.

Why the OSBA Is the Right Network for Us

We are convinced that openness, collaboration, and shared knowledge form the foundation of a future-ready digital society.

At a time when open technology and independence are gaining increasing importance due to current political developments, we believe the moment has come to not only live this mindset within our own product, but to actively contribute on a broader level as well.

At the OSBA, organizations and individuals come together who see open source not as a niche topic, but as the foundation of the digital future. For digital sovereignty to be more than a buzzword, open source needs a shared voice. Individual companies can make a difference—but structural change happens when many join forces.

That is why we joined the OSBA. We want to be part of a network that actively shapes and advances digital sovereignty and sustainable IT structures.

A First Concrete Step – OSBA Connect

In November, we were already in Berlin for our first general assembly as a member: OSBA Connect 2025.

It quickly became clear how committed and diverse the open-source community is—and how much energy and shared vision this network brings together. In discussions, panels, and working groups, the focus was on very concrete questions, such as:

How can open source act as an innovation driver for modernizing the public sector?
What is needed to ensure open source is better considered in public procurement?
Which framework conditions are required to operate open solutions sustainably?
How can collaboration succeed across organizational and national boundaries?

Practical insights illustrated both opportunities and challenges—and showed what is truly possible.

Equally valuable to us was the personal exchange. The conversations, impulses, and open atmosphere confirmed one thing clearly: this is not just about technical solutions, but about shared responsibility and the question of how we can shape our digital future independently.

We are very much looking forward to getting actively involved and contributing our part.

NATO MSEC & OTOBO: New CMDB

Pia Cebic — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 06:37:09 +0000

NEWS | COMPANY

A joint journey to a new CMDB: NATO MSEC and OTOBO

When a visit from the NATO Mission Systems Engineering Centre (MSEC) is announced at the OTOBO office, it’s never just an ordinary training appointment.

In October 2025, we had the pleasure of organizing two intensive working sessions with this special customer: four days of a CMDB workshop at the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force site in Geilenkirchen, followed by four days of OTOBO training with Igor C. and Jesus E. from MSEC at our office in Leiblfing.

This second part marked the conclusion of the series—and ended with both participants becoming Certified OTOBO 11.0 Administrators.

Turning ideas into reality

The joint project began around two years ago in Geilenkirchen. At that time, our Head of Development Sven Oesterling and Managing Director Stefan Rother visited the site to discuss the future development of OTOBO together with ITSM specialists Chris W. and Ralf W..

Both of them saw potential for improving the CMDB based on the legacy OTRS Community Edition and contributed their extensive expertise in ITSM and change management to the project. Through close collaboration, a concept was created that would become the foundation for one of the most significant enhancements in OTOBO 11: the new OTOBO CMDB—tightly integrated with ticketing, offering more flexibility, clear permission control, and an improved user experience.

A photo in front of one of the iconic AWACS aircraft captures the moment when, during intensive workshops, the groundwork for the new CMDB was laid — the starting point of a development journey that we have continued to advance together with our customers and partners over the following months.

From left to right: Ralf W., Chris W., Stefan R., Sven O.

Hundreds of development days and countless coordination rounds with a wide range of stakeholders later, the circle is complete: all systems of the NATO MSEC team have now been migrated to OTOBO 11, and the restructuring of the CMDB is underway.

Once again, practice shows: what formerly started as an ambitious idea is now a reliable part of everyday operations.

Built on real experience — made for real impact

The result is a CMDB that…

is seamlessly integrated into ticketing, change, and process management,
enables direct selection, linking, and updating of ConfigItems from ticket forms,
works with finely controllable permissions down to the attribute level,
makes assigned assets accessible in both the customer and public frontends,
visualizes dependencies in a tree view,
… and much more.

Today, the new CMDB is part of the OTOBO standard — and it’s not just helping large organizations like NATO move forward, but also many others who rely on OTOBO:

→ The mid-sized wheel loader manufacturer that records every part of its machines in the OTOBO CMDB and gives customers access to individual documentation via QR code.
→ The university that manages its internship placements through the OTOBO CMDB.
→ And countless IT departments making everyday life easier for their users — because no one has to crawl under desks anymore to note device codes.

The true spirit of open source

This project is a perfect example of how we continue to develop OTOBO — not on our own, but together with the community.

Where people share knowledge and work hand in hand, innovation thrives:

Through open dialogue with our customers and partners, we’ve created a well-rounded product that delivers real value for organizations of all sizes — regardless of the use case.

Implemented and certified

The CMDB Project 2025 with NATO was once again a great success:

Together, we implemented new functionalities, introduced two new colleagues to the finer details of OTOBO and the CMDB, guided them through the certification process — and had an all-around fantastic time. Not to mention the homemade paella.

We’re already looking forward to the next workshops next summer — and we’re excited to see what will have been implemented in the system by then.

A big thank you for the excellent collaboration and congratulations on becoming Certified OTOBO 11.0 Administrators!

From left to right: Sven O., Stefan R., Igor C., Jesus E., Alex O.

Curious to learn more?

Would you like to find out what the new CMDB can do — or what makes sense for your specific use case? Let’s talk. In a no-obligation conversation, we’ll explore what fits your needs best and how we can tailor OTOBO to match them.

Let’s talk!

A Stronger Leadership Team: OTOBO Expands Its Executive Management

Hauke Böttcher — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 05:41:21 +0000

NEWS | COMPANY

A Stronger Leadership Team: OTOBO Expands Its Executive Management

OTOBO continues to grow – and that includes our leadership. Effective immediately, Grit Rother joins the executive team as Co-Managing Director, taking on responsibility for all non-technical areas of the business.

Together with Stefan Rother and co-founder Sven Oesterling, the leadership trio brings together deep expertise, technical know-how, and a strong customer focus. This combination reinforces the foundation for our vision: to develop sustainable service management solutions in close partnership with the open source community.

Customer-Focused. Clear. Solution-Oriented.

Grit has been part of the OTOBO team since 2014 and has played a key role in shaping the company both internally and externally. Since 2020, she has been the primary contact for our customers. She understands their challenges, speaks their language, and focuses on solutions rather than problems.

She listens, identifies what really matters – and ensures that projects run smoothly, requirements are clearly defined, and the right people are in place when needed. Her strategic mindset and ability to see the bigger picture make a real difference: Grit thinks ahead, plans with foresight, and always keeps our customers’ needs in focus.

Her appointment as Managing Director formalizes what has long been reality within the company. Sven Oesterling puts it this way: “Grit has helped shape OTOBO for years – now she’s doing so officially as part of our leadership team. It’s a logical and important step. With her on board at the top level, we’re well-positioned for the future.”

For Grit, this new role is above all an invitation to keep moving forward – together: “We have big plans. I’m truly excited to continue moving OTOBO forward with our amazing team – and to develop tailored, sustainable service management solutions in close collaboration with our customers and the community.”

What Does This Mean for OTOBO and Our Customers?

With Grit’s experience, strategic vision, and strong people skills, we’re deepening our customer focus – across consulting, projects, and support.

Stefan Rother sums it up: “Grit knows our customers, our processes, and our values better than almost anyone. With her in this leadership role, we’re becoming even more agile and customer-oriented. Our goal: to keep optimizing processes, accelerate innovation – and continue delivering the best possible service to our customers.”

Welcome to the executive team, Grit – now officially!

About Rother OSS GmbH

Founded in 2011, Rother OSS GmbH, based in Straubing, offers business services for open-source OTRS versions and is committed to the open-source philosophy. We provide personalized and partnership-based consulting, training, development, support, and managed services to help organizations of all sizes implement customized and sustainable solutions for their process and service management.

Since 2019, we’ve been developing our own fork, OTOBO. As maintainers and source code owners, we make the service management platform consistently available as open-source and license-free, and continuously develop it in close collaboration with the community.

Our clients include companies like Siemens, Infineon, Hyundai, and Bernina, as well as government agencies, municipalities, universities, and hospitals. For more information, visit otobo.io or LinkedIn. Follow us!

Press contact

Grit Rother
Phone: +49 9427 68 39 000

OTOBO 10.0 – End of Life as of 01.01.2026

Hauke Böttcher — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 13:42:37 +0000

NEWS | RELEASE MANAGEMENT

OTOBO 10.0 Reaches End of Life on January 1, 2026

End of Life for OTOBO 10.0.x

As of January 1, 2026, OTOBO 10.0 will officially reach its end of life, affecting all versions of OTOBO 10.0.x released since July 2020.

After this date, OTOBO 10.0.x versions will no longer receive security updates. Please upgrade to OTOBO 10.1 or OTOBO 11 in advance.

Of course, we’ll be happy to help updating your system.

Any questions? Contact us.

Release Cycle

We’ve got you covered: every OTOBO version is supported for a minimum of three years – at least until the release of the next major/minor release but one.

Release
OTOBO 10.0
OTOBO 10.1
OTOBO 11.0

Release date
July 2020
May 2022
May 2024

End of Life
January 1, 2026
with OTOBO 12.0, approximately May 2026
Not before May 2027

OTOBO standard configuration and Spooky SSL

Hauke Böttcher — Mon, 06 May 2024 15:16:21 +0000

NEWS | November 25, 2022

OTOBO and Spooky SSL

The currently used MariaDB version in OTOBO’s standard configuration is not affected by the OpenSSL vulnerabilities CVE-2022-3602 and CVE-2022-3786.

Many software projects are affected by the 2022 OpenSSL vulnerabilities CVE-2022-3602 and CVE-2022-3786, also known as Spooky SSL. We’re taking this opportunity to describe the current state in OTOBO.

Docker Environments

In the current standard configuration, OTOBO uses MariaDB version 10.5 as its database. The standard database can be changed via the OTOBO_IMAGE_DB setting in docker_compose.

The MariaDB 10.5 image is based on Ubuntu Focal, which is the 20.04 LTS version that will receive regular security updates until April 2025.

Ubuntu Focal uses OpenSSL version 1.1.1, which is not vulnerable according to Canonical / Ubuntu / focal (20.04 LTS).
The Image Vulnerability Database notes that vulnerability arises from dependencies:

“Based on information currently available, the following products – through their usage or dependency to OpenSSL 3.x – will be vulnerable:

Debian 12 (bookworm) and unstable
Ubuntu 22.04 and 22.10
RedHat Enterprise Linux 9
Alpine 3.15, 3.16 and edge
Node.js 18 and 19”

Therefore, the MariaDB version we currently use as standard is not vulnerable to the OpenSSL vulnerabilities CVE-2022-3602 and CVE-2022-3786.

We still recommend that all users check if they are running the current version of the image.

OTOBO without Docker

If you’re using OTOBO without Docker, it’s essential to install a current distribution that receives regular security updates.
Make sure to install these automatically or at least regularly.
The major distributions have quickly fixed the OpenSSL vulnerability and provided corresponding updates.
To check if your installed MariaDB version uses a vulnerable version of the library, you can use the ‘ldd’ command:

$ ldd /usr/bin/mariadb | grep ssl
In the output, you’ll see that version 1.1 of the libssl library is used, which is not affected by this vulnerability:
libssl.so.1.1 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libssl.so.1.1 (0x00007fb8b53d00)
On Debian and Ubuntu, you can use the ‘dpkg’ command to display the currently installed version of the package:

$ dpkg -s libssl1.1 | grep Version
The output also indicates a non-vulnerable version:
Version: 1.1.1f-1ubuntu2.13

In general, we recommend migrating to the Docker variant in the medium term, as it promises more operational security among other benefits. We’ll be happy to support you in this process.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact our support.

Download OTOBO

About Rother OSS GmbH

The Rother OSS GmbH is the owner of the source code for the open-source service management platform OTOBO. We support our customers with consulting, development, support, and managed services during the introduction and operation of OTOBO. With OTOBO, organizations can design their processes more efficiently, increase employee productivity, and improve service quality – in IT, customer, or enterprise service management. At the same time, they retain control over their data, reduce risks, and save costs. We are passionate about open-source software and believe in the benefits of cooperative development. By releasing OTOBO under the GNU General Public License (GPL v3.0), we want to share our enthusiasm for the open-source model with users, particularly a flexible, scalable, and extendable service management platform. Together with customers, partners, developers, and users, we form the OTOBO community. Nothing motivates us more than enabling additional organizations to use OTOBO to delight their customers with exceptional service. Every smile counts – every day. While we have been offering services for the precursor of OTOBO, the helpdesk system OTRS, since 2011, the community has had a better alternative available since 2019: OTOBO, which is 100% open-source and remains so. Find the latest news about OTOBO at otobo.io or LinkedIn. Follow us!

Press contact

Grit Rother
Tel: +49 9427 68 39 000

OAuth2 replaces Microsoft standard authentication

Hauke Böttcher — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 14:19:17 +0000

NEWS | SEPTEMBER 25, 2022

OAuth 2 replaces Microsoft standard authentication

Configuring Microsoft standard authentication. What’s changing with email retrieval using Office 365.

OAuth2 replaces Microsoft Standard Authentication

Since 2020, Microsoft has offered OAuth 2.0 support for POP, IMAP, and SMTP AUTH. As announced by Microsoft, standard authentication for Outlook- and EWS-, RPS-, POP-, IMAP-, and EAS protocols in Exchange Online will be discontinued on October 1, 2022.

This means that users who utilize OTOBO or the ((OTRS)) Community Edition in combination with Microsoft 365 or Exchange Online to retrieve their emails via POP3 or IMAP need to take action.

Without adjustments, they will no longer be able to retrieve emails after standard authentication is discontinued.

OTOBO: Email Retrieval with OAuth2

For OTOBO, we have already provided the MailAccount-OAuth2 add-on some time ago, which enables email retrieval via OAuth2 for POP3 and IMAP.

This package is available for download in the package management section under Admin > Package Management in the OTOBO Addons directory.

With OTOBO 11, this functionality will be integrated into the standard features and no longer requires separate installation.

A detailed technical installation guide for migrating your OTOBO instance to OAuth2 can be found in the admin handbook (in English).

OAuth 2 for ((OTRS)) Community Edition

We have also developed add-on packages for users of OTRS 5 and 6.

As usual, we provide these packages free of charge to our support customers. Simply contact us through the familiar support channels.

If you need a package for an older OTRS version, the ((OTRS)) Community Edition, or another fork – and are not one of our support customers – please contact us.

In this case, we will charge a small fee.

About Rother OSS GmbH

Press contact

Grit Rother
Tel: +49 9427 68 39 000

OTOBO and the Log4j Zero Day vulnerability

Hauke Böttcher — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 08:58:45 +0000

NEWS | DECEMBER 17, 2021

OTOBO and the Log4j Zero Day vulnerability

Apache Log4j2 Remote Code Execution (RCE) Vulnerability CVE-2021-44228 | ESA-2021-31 | CVE-2021-45046

A critically rated vulnerability in the widely used Java library Log4j allows attackers to execute arbitrary code. Since the vulnerability can be exploited without explicitly loading malicious code, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) retroactively elevated the Zero-Day vulnerability to the highest warning level red over the weekend (source: Heise).

We have analyzed the threat situation regarding OTOBO and have reached the following preliminary conclusions:

In the OTOBO application bundle, only Elasticsearch uses Log4j and could therefore potentially be affected.
According to current statements from Elasticsearch, OTOBO is fundamentally not affected by the major security threats (Remote Code Execution, data leaks).
The central sentence here is: “Supported Versions of Elasticsearch (6.8.9+, 7.8+) used with recent versions of the JDK (JDK9+) are not susceptible to either remote code execution or information leakage (see: Elasticsearch statement). OTOBO uses JDK 16, and Elasticsearch has been at version 7.14+ since its first beta.
In manually set up instances that use Elasticsearch with OpenJDK 8, limited .env data leakage may be possible.

OTOBO Docker Environment

The OTOBO Docker-Compose environment, in our assessment and according to Elasticsearch’s statement, is not affected since Java JDK 16 is in operation there.

Manual OTOBO Installation with Apache2

Elasticsearch 6 and 7 are not vulnerable to Remote Code Execution with this security vulnerability due to the use of the Java Security Manager.

Elasticsearch running under JDK8 or below is susceptible to an information leak via DNS, which can be mitigated by setting the following JVM property: => Set the JVM option Dlog4j2.formatMsgNoLookups=true

Disabling Elasticsearch in OTOBO

If you want to disable Elasticsearch, it is possible at any time without jeopardizing system functionality. Only the Elasticsearch search will not be available for use. The normal search and all other functions will remain fully accessible.

Please proceed as follows:

Please switch to Admin -> System Configuration and deactivate the option “Elasticsearch::Active”.
Navigate to -> Web Services and set the web service “Elasticsearch” to invalid.
Stop the Elasticsearch service.

New Patch with Latest Elasticsearch Version – OTOBO 10.0.14

Although based on all available information, it is unlikely that OTOBO instances with current Elasticsearch components are affected by Log4Shell, we are providing a patch level release with OTOBO 10.0.14, which incorporates the latest Elasticsearch version 7.16.1. This version includes the JVM property by default, and some Log4J components were removed as a precautionary measure (original statement of Elastic).

New Vulnerability CVE-2021-45046

Elastic’s recommendation for Elasticsearch remains unchanged following the discovery of the new security vulnerability. Therefore, nothing changes for OTOBO compared to before.
The original text from Elastic: “Update 15 December A further vulnerability (CVE-2021-45046) was disclosed on December 14th after it was found that the fix to address CVE-2021-44228 in Apache Log4j 2.15.0 was incomplete in certain non-default configurations. Our guidance for Elasticsearch, A A and and is20144, and Logstash are unchanged by this new vulnerability.”(source)

Download OTOBO

About Rother OSS GmbH

Rother OSS GmbH is the owner of the source code for the open-source service management platform OTOBO. We support our customers with consulting, development, support, and managed services during the implementation and operation of OTOBO. With OTOBO, organizations can design their processes more efficiently, increase their employees’ productivity, and improve their service quality – in IT, customer, or enterprise service management. At the same time, they maintain control over their data, reduce risks, and save costs. We are passionate about open source and believe in the benefits of cooperative software development. By releasing OTOBO under the GNU General Public License (GPL v3.0), we want to share our passion for the open-source model with users, particularly a flexible, extensible, and scalable service management platform. Together with customers, partners, developers, and users, we are the OTOBO community. Nothing motivates us more than additional organizations using OTOBO to delight their customers with exceptional service. Every smile counts – every day. While we have been offering services for the precursor to OTOBO, the helpdesk system OTRS, since 2011, the community has had a better alternative available since 2019 with OTOBO, which is 100% open source and remains so. You can find current news about OTOBO on otobo.io or LinkedIn. Follow us!

Press contact

Grit Rother
Tel: +49 9427 68 39 000

OTOBO Partner Program

Hauke Böttcher — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 13:36:54 +0000

NEWS | MARCH 22, 2022

Introducing the OTOBO Partner Program: Now Open for Enrollment

Building a robust open-source help desk through powerful partnerships.

Straubing, March 22, 2021 – With OTOBO, a fork of the ((OTRS)) Community Edition, Rother OSS GmbH took its first step in early 2020 to create a 100% free open-source ticket system with convincing functionality and aesthetics, backed by a broad community. The OTOBO Partner Program now establishes the formal foundation for close collaboration with OS service providers from Germany and around the world.

Our goal: ‘We’re betting on cooperation and are convinced that all stakeholders will equally benefit from this collaboration – open-source project, customers, and service providers,’ says Stefan Rother, founder and CEO of Rother OSS. Following the official end-of-life support for ((OTRS)) Community Edition 6, the program was explicitly opened to partners in the DACH region as well.

The starting point for the partner program was the significant international interest in the free open-source ticket system. ‘We were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and willingness to support shown by open-source service providers from around the world, who reacted to OTOBO and our initiative to rebuild a strong community.’

The overwhelming response confirms that we’re on the right track with our new free product and open-source focus, which naturally delights us. Now, we want to leverage this momentum to pool our resources, make OTOBO even better together, and give users around the world the opportunity to be accompanied by a qualified OTOBO partner,” says Stefan Rother.

“The program is targeted at experienced OS service providers and features three partnership levels. At its core are exchange and close collaboration between the manufacturer and the partner community. Membership can be discounted by up to 100% through engagement with the open-source project. A comprehensive qualification program will ensure uniform service standards. Additionally, the manufacturer’s support team will provide level-3 support to partners.

Official OTOBO partners specialize in business services related to the open-source service management system and have extensive expertise in areas such as evaluation, customization, migration, interfaces, and more. This ensures that customers worldwide can expect consistently high-quality service from OTOBO partners.

Customers can identify OTOBO partners by the official partner logos. These providers are listed in the partner section of the OTOBO website.

Partners in Germany:

ITSM specialists FREICON (OTOBO Enterprise Partner, monitos.de),
IT Security experts CIPHRON (OTOBO Premium Partner, ciphron.de),
Perl experts Perl-Services (OTOBO Qualified Partner, perl-services.de),
Service desk specialists Efflux (OTOBO Qualified Partner, efflux.de).

International Partners:

Brasil: ServiceUp (OTOBO Qualified Partner, serviceup.br),
Italy: E-Time s.r.l. / Rexpondo (OTOBO Qualified Partner, rexpondo.it),
Poland: Intalio S.J. (OTOBO Premium Partner, intalio.pl),
Austria: ONTEC AG (OTOBO Qualified Partner, ontec.at).
Latin america: Gridshield S.A. / INTELICOLAB. (OTOBO Qualified Partner, intelicolab.com)

Internationally, additional companies are also ready to go and are already contributing to the project, for example, by providing translations.

➞ More about becoming an OTOBO Partner

About Rother OSS GmbH

Rother OSS GmbH is the source code owner and maintainer of the open-source service management platform OTOBO. We support our customers with consulting, development, support, and managed services for implementing and operating OTOBO. By leveraging OTOBO in IT Service Management (ITSM), Customer Service Management (CSM), or Enterprise Service Management (ESM), organizations can streamline their processes, increase employee productivity, and improve service quality. At the same time, they maintain control over their data, reduce risks, and save costs. We are open-source enthusiasts and believe that giving is the best starting point for an exchange that creates value for all parties involved. Therefore, we offer organizations free access to a top-class service management software and support them with tailored business services. This makes OTOBO unique. As a community, we want to further develop OTOBO together to provide outstanding service and increase the number of satisfied people, making the world a little better every day. Since 2011, we have been offering services for the predecessor of OTOBO, the helpdesk system OTRS. Since 2019, the community has had a better alternative available with OTOBO, which is 100% open-source and remains so. Stay up to date with the latest news about OTOBO at otobo.io or on LinkedIn. Follow us!

Press contact

Grit Rother
Phone: +49 9427 68 39 000