Blogs

I've long held the view that the public sector stands to gain more from the adoption of F/OSS technology and principles than perhaps any other area. This is not just about saving on software licensing, reducing integration and support costs, fostering reuse and increasing the transparency of software projects. As if these benefits alone were not enough: costs are frequently an issue and transparency can be a serious problem where huge, complex, drawn-out and all-too-often-prone-to-failure public sector ICT projects are concerned. More than this, though, an opportunity exists to create, as Dan Bricklin called it in his article Software That Lasts Two Hundred Years, "Societal Infrastructure Software".

DLA Piper and FOSSBazaar invite you to a webinar on the Top 10 Issues Confronting Users of Open Source hosted by Mark Radcliffe of DLA Piper.

While the use of open source has become ubiquitous, a recent survey indicates that less than 50 percent of companies have an open source use policy. During this webinar, we will discuss major mistakes companies make in managing the use of open source as well as best practices in managing open source use.

Thursday, October 29, 2009
9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. PST
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. MST
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. CST
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. EST

This invitation-only event is complimentary, but pre-registration is required. We encourage you to register as soon as possible because space is limited.

We had a very productive FOSSBazaar meeting at Open World Forum in Paris earlier this month. The slides of the presentations are available and here are some notes about the meeting. We identified a number of issues that people are interested in, including:

Whilst an increasing number of people and organisations are now able to position F/OSS within the context of the traditional IT organisation and wider enterprise, there are still a great many for whom questions remain unanswered. Where the seasoned F/OSS advocate celebrates and uses to their and their employer's advantage the choice, flexibility and empowerment that F/OSS affords, it can leave those who are used to being vendor-led in a position of uncertainty and with significant perceived obstacles to adoption. It is one thing to appreciate the F/OSS value proposition, and quite something else to be in a position to be able to actually reap those rewards through effective adoption and beyond that through participation.

Enterprises must update their understanding.

Like last year, we're organizing a "Business of Open Source" mini-conf at LCA 2010 (Wellington, New Zealand; January 18-23). This mini-conf is for people interested in business aspects of open source. Topics of interest include licensing your work, building a market, building a community, gathering market data, distribution, communications, working with open source developers, working with governments and countries, working with procurement departments, corporate governance, funding, pricing, lessons from your experience, and whatever related topics people would like to bring up.

The CFP for this mini-conf is open now. If you're looking for a reason to go to New Zealand in January, this is your chance. Please check out the CFP and submit your proposal before September 27. If you have any questions, let me know at tbm@hp.com