OpenFrame Gen1 is Here

The Next Wave: Practitioner-Built, Free Open-Source IT Tools

Thursday 25 June
16:11
23:36
Video Episode
Ed Mozley taught himself to build and shipped a 20-module open-source ITSM platform, solo, in a matter of months. By day, Ed runs infrastructure for a city law firm in London. Starting this February, he began building FreeITSM at his kitchen table, nights and weekends around a young family. He made it free forever with no paid tier, and it's gaining significant interest across the globe - the US, Europe, and the Far East. In this episode, Ed sits down with host Michael Assraf to talk through how he built it, why he's keeping it open and free, and what AI plus open source means for the future of IT service management. A conversation for anyone curious about what practitioners can create right now.
AIBEST PRACTICESCOMMUNITYITSMMSP TOOLSOPEN SOURCEOPENSOURCE
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The 'Eureka' Moment I Built My Own App

Kristina Shkriabina

Kristina Shkriabina

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Building FreeITSM

Ed Mozley runs infrastructure for a city law firm in London by day. Nights and weekends, he taught himself to build software and shipped FreeITSM - a 20-module open-source ITSM platform - solo from his kitchen table, around a young family. He tells the story on the OpenMSP Podcast.
A matter of months. Ed started building in early 2026 and shipped a 20-module platform solo, working nights and weekends around a full-time job and a young family - a timeline that simply wasn't realistic for one person before AI-assisted development.
Free forever is the point, not a pricing tactic. FreeITSM has no paid tier and no plans for one - a principled choice about who gets access to serious IT service management tooling. The episode digs into why Ed is keeping it open and free rather than turning it into a business.
It collapsed the cost of building. Ed taught himself modern development and shipped a platform of a scope that previously needed a funded team. He and Michael dig into what AI plus open source means for the future of IT service management and who gets to build it.
Globally. Since launch it has drawn significant interest across the US, Europe, and the Far East - notable reach for a free, solo-built platform with no marketing budget, spreading mainly through open-source and IT communities.
It's proof of the next wave: AI has dropped the cost of building real IT software far enough that one working practitioner can create a serious tool and give it away. That growing supply of practitioner-built, open tools is what gives IT teams and MSPs genuine choice.

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