The company announced its acquisition of New York based Apperceptive who will form the core of their new services division. Apperceptive’s team have not only worked on a lot of very high profile projects but have also developed quite a few extensions for Movable Type (I think I’ve a couple of them installed on this site!).
They’ve also announced a new advertising solution for both bloggers (publishers) and media buyers. As this is a new service I’d expect there’ll be a delay before we start seeing it “in action”.
Anil Dash’s post on their main site covers their vision in some detail.
Earlier in the day Arvind posted an interview with Anil on the Blog Herald
The services side of the company will probably meet with a degree of criticism from some quarters, but it’s not uncommon for software companies to handle a certain amount of this type of work inhouse.
Will this have a negative impact on the developers and consultants who work closely with SixApart?
Judging by reactions on the mailing lists probably not, though the company’s detractors were vocal as usual.
What is interesting to see is the range of services that they are pushing. These range from basic installation and tweaking to a full migration and upgrade service.
While the $199 price tag may put off some people I can imagine that a lot of small businesses might be attracted. With the current rate of exchange it equates to a mere 125 euro for a blog “tune up”.
They don’t seem to be offering design services, which is a pity as I’d love to give this site an overhaul!
EDIT: Fixed a typo spotted by David Raynes‘ eagle eyes!
