Open Source

The opportunity of Open Source is significant and it's here now. It's potentially of major benefit to both vendors and customers. However, there are justifiable concerns on the part of customers and vendors alike. Is there a supportable business model for suppliers? What are the risks for customers and how can they be managed? How can The Open Group assist?

Our objective is to provide a business-oriented briefing to our general membership and to discuss the strategies and tactics to take advantage of the Open Source opportunities.

A Brief Introduction to Open Source.

In this session you will learn about Open Source and what it has to offer the business world. The presentation will cover an overview of the benefits and barriers to take-up. Also included in the session are overviews of developments in the area of Open Source licensing, and how to go forward both as a vendor and as a customer.

• Topics covered will be:
• The Benefits of Open Source
• The Barriers to take-up of Open Source 
• Sizing the Open Source market 
• Four ways to make money with Open Source
• A brief introduction to Open Source Licensing
• An overview of the GPL, X Window, Artistic and NPL licenses
• How to choose a license suitable for your business

Interactive Workshop

This session consists of a interactive workshop, in which participants should include customers and vendors. Participants will be expected to describe their experiences with Open Source. Discussion points will be drawn from Introductory Session. 

The goal of the workshop is to identify how to bring the benefits of Open-Source to the constituencies of The Open Group. This will be achieved by understanding the needs of Vendors and Customers, and identifying resource needs, and identification of possible actions.

Andrew Josey
Senior Test Development Manager at The Open Group and Open Source advocate.

Last Update: 24 March, 1999