2007 Open Source Think Tank - Executive Summary

The annual Open Source Think Tank "The Future of Commercial Open Source" co-hosted by Olliance Group and DLA Piper is an invitation only event for 120 leading CEOs, CIOs/CTOs, Counsel, VCs and open source Luminaries to come together for three days of brainstorming and panel discussions. Each year an executive summary white paper is published and topics include all areas of interest to open source and governance.

The 2nd Open Source Think Tank was held on March 8-10, 2007, at the Silverado Resort in Napa, California. The purpose of the event was to provide a venue for thought leaders from key segments of the open source industry to collaboratively discuss, brainstorm and develop solutions to key issues in the growth and maturation of commercial open source. Topics discussed included business models, licensing and intellectual property issues, and adoption and usage models. The 100 attendees represented many sectors of the open source ecosystem including senior executives from large and small software vendors (both open source and proprietary), CIOs, venture capitalists, analysts and other industry experts.

The following is a synopsis of the event. It is not meant to represent the official company positions of any of the attendees but to be an as accurate as possible summary of the many substantive discussions held over the three days. The authors of this document have been careful to keep personal opinions out, while faithfully recording the substance, facts and flavor of the event.