OCS Inventory: A complete overhaul to embrace tomorrow’s Technologies – The Interview

The OCS Inventory reworking project with version 3.0

In an interview with Gilles, Head of Development at FactorFX, we highlight the challenges of a major project: the complete redesign of OCS Inventory! Discover the reasons behind this transformation, the impact of such a rework on software like OCS Inventory, and the key milestones ahead.

Hello Gilles, could you introduce yourself?

Hello! I’m Head of Development at FactorFX, where I have been working for just over nine years now. My team and I are responsible for developing and improving the solutions we publish, such as OCS Inventory. 

You work at FactorFX, and today you’re going to talk to us about OCS Inventory. Can you explain what OCS Inventory is?

OCS Inventory is FactorFX’s flagship software. It was originally a community project, developed for nearly ten years by the French Gendarmerie and the open-source community. In 2015, FactorFX officially took over OCS Inventory to offer professional-grade services while maintaining transparency and sharing with the community.

You’re here to tell us about a major ongoing project for OCS Inventory. Can you tell us more?

Yes, after nearly 20 years in its current form, OCS Inventory is undergoing a full redesign. This is a project we’ve been preparing for several years with the goal of evolving the tool by adopting the best technologies available. This long-term effort will truly transform OCS Inventory for years to come.

What does reworking software involve?

Reworking a software application is an important step in the lifecycle of any IT product. Think of it as a breath of fresh air. We often start from scratch by completely rewriting the code, or at least thoroughly reviewing its mechanisms to make it more efficient and adapted to current technologies. It is an opportunity to rethink the tool, improve it and integrate the latest innovations. In short, this is a genuine renovation project that will give the entire software a new look.

Why did you decide to embark on this project?

Choosing to rework a project is often a difficult choice, costly in terms of time, but necessary for software with a long history. Take OCS Inventory as an example: we are proud of the product’s stability, but the underlying technologies are starting to show their age. The objective is also to enable new features that can’t be implemented today because of the current code’s legacy structure.

What issues are you facing today?

Currently, there are three main issues:

• The obsolescence and technical limitations of the module used to process inventories. This prevents us from offering powerful features or integrations, such as with the IoT.

• Current code standards make development fastidious and community contributions more difficult.

• We want to provide a diagnostic tool for the database to better integrate with the IT systems of businesses and users. Currently, the tool is limited to MySQL, which restricts integration possibilities.

What will the rework make possible?

The rework aims to solve issues related to the architecture and outdated technologies of the current tool. But it also aims to improve certain features already present in the tool. For example, we want to provide a better reporting and inventory management experience than the tool currently allows.We also plan to review the concept of assets in order to achieve cross-functionality between different types of equipment (computers, servers, network equipment, etc.).The agent will be revised to provide more advanced security features to respond to the current context and offer a dynamic inventory system, allowing an administrator to modify the inventory directly from the administration console.

More specifically, what are the main areas of improvement?

We plan to focus on three main priorities:

1. Improve reporting and enhance interoperability between data sources from various inventory types (agent, network, SNMP, administrative). We’ll also offer a more ergonomic and user-friendly interface.

2. Create a fully dynamic inventory engine allowing administrators to modify and add inventory data directly from a web interface.

3. Reinforce interoperability with third-party tools through an API-based application. The backend will be a fully open RESTful API, enabling complete freedom for integrations and data management.

What will be the different steps in this project?

The software's rework will take place in several stages. First, we will propose an initial iso-functional mock-up with the current version so that the community and businesses can validate it and give us their feedback. We plan to launch an RC (release candidate) version by the first quarter of 2025.

A first stable version 3.0 is planned for the first half of 2025. The features currently available as plugins will be gradually reintegrated starting in the last quarter of 2025.

This will be for new users, if I understand correctly. What will happen to users of the current version?

In order to enable our users and customers to migrate to the new version, we will offer two things:

• A backward compatibility module for legacy agents. Updating all agents in a given environment can be complex, so we will offer an interface allowing older agents to operate within an ISO perimeter (except remote deployment). This will simplify transitions and updates while maintaining support for legacy systems.

• The 2.X server branch will continue to be maintained for three years after the first stable 3.0 release. This gives users and organizations time to plan and execute a smooth migration.

For the open source community, will this change anything in terms of their contribution?

On the contrary, we know that the documentation on branch 2.X, which allows users to contribute and develop around the tool, is quite limited. The aim of this overhaul is therefore to better explain to developers and contributors the inner workings of the solution and how to use its various mechanisms.

This will make it easier for the community to contribute, and we hope that they will step up to help us improve the tool during its testing phase and in the future.

How can the community get involved?

The community will be able to actively participate as soon as the source code and initial installation documents are published. We’re eager to receive feedback, which will be essential for fine-tuning the project. Everything will happen on GitHub, in the Issues section, where anyone can share ideas, report bugs, or propose improvements. We’ll announce the link soon, so stay tuned! It’s a great opportunity to take part in the evolution of the tool and make your voice heard. We’re really counting on you!

GitHub OCS Inventory 👉 https://github.com/OCSInventory-NG