Conference Sponsors

This one-day conference, designed for enterprises as diverse as SMEs to major corporations and those in the public sector, will consider the practical issues of implementing Open Source software. The Open Group has brought together some of the leaders in the world of open source to consider the opportunities, advantages, risks and challenges that can arise.

About the event

Open Source software is the fastest growing sector of the IT market, yet it is surrounded by myth and misunderstanding. It promises a significant opportunity for all organizations to get more out of their IT assets for less money, either now or in the future. Open Source software is now widely used for certain types of stand-alone applications and we are now seeing application software being packaged. However, for the enterprise, many issues still need to be addressed. Issues such as integrating open source into enterprise architecture, security, and total cost of ownership need to be addressed. This conference will assist attendees in gaining a better understanding of the issues; it will suggest areas where the implementation of Open Source software presents potential advantages and will consider some of the ways in which common pitfalls can be avoided.

Topics to be discussed include:

• The myths of Open Source
• How does the Open Source model REALLY work?
• Integrating Open Source into an Enterprise Architecture
• Implementing Open Source software without having to deal with the source code
• The impact of Open Source on IT Security
• Digital Rights Management - The implications of Open Source
• Why you should demand products that are certified to conform to open standards - avoiding divergence, the role of certification and testing
• Work items of The Open Group Members:
  o Manager's Guide to Open Source Adoption
  o Including Open Source in your SW landscape
  o Best practices for releasing Open Source
  o Open Source in Enterprise Architecture

Why Attend?

The Open Group is the premier consortium for open standards and for the certification of conformance to open standards. Its membership represents a trusted partnership between suppliers and enterprise customers of IT products and services. With its emphasis on being strictly vendor and technology neutral, the conferences of The Open Group are intended to spread the adoption of open standards and best practice. The rationale for this is that if more enterprises insist upon these standards, more products will be made available by vendors that support them. In this way, choices increase and risk is reduced in the implementation of IT products and services.

Speakers

Allen Brown, President and CEO of The Open Group will open the conference with a keynote address on The Growing Importance of Open Source to the Enterprise IT Customer.

Rt. Hon John Pugh MP - Linux in the Public Sector

Mike Gubbins, Editor, Computing - The penetration of Open Source into mainstream IT

Mru Patel, Sun Microsystems and Peter Cameron, Melstar Ltd. - Control the Costs of your Enterprise Desktop with Open Source Technology and Microsoft to Staroffice Migration / Macro Conversions at Low Cost!

Walter Stahlecker, Director of Industry Initiatives, Hewlett-Packard Company - Integrating Open Source into an Enterprise Architecture

Steve Nunn, Chief Operating Officer and Legal Counsel, The Open Group - Who owns Open Source? An examination of Open Source licensing models

Andrew Josey, Director, Server Platforms, The Open Group - Avoiding divergence, the role of certification and testing

Matt Asay, Chief Business Strategist, Linux Business Office & Open Source Review Board, Novell Inc - The Open Source Adoption Conundrum: The Problems and Promise of Choice

Who Should Attend

• CEO's, CIOs, CTOs
• Vice Presidents of IT/e-Commerce
• Directors of Application Development
• Directors of Strategic Relationships
• IT/IS Managers and Architects
• Application and Systems Integrators
• Business Process Analysts
• Analysts and Consultants
• Training and Education Managers
• Vendors and Venture Capitalists
• Financial, Procurement and Business Managers