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Demystifying Open Source – How an Open Source Strategy Can Make and Save Money for Your Business

April 27, 2006

Open source software development is revolutionizing the way that technology companies are doing business. Many technology companies have found ways to increase profits and save their customers money by abandoning their traditional business models and establishing an open source strategy. However, there is still a great deal of confusion and misinformation regarding open source and, as a result, many companies are reluctant to covert to an open source business model until they better understand what open source is and how it can benefit them.

In this session, hear leading early adopters of open source strategies debunk many of the misconceptions regarding open source and discuss topics, including:

• What is open source ? What are the differences with proprietary software ? Is it really free ?
• How can companies make money by giving their software away?
• How do customers benefit from doing business with open source companies?
• What user strategies and tactics will lead to successful open source software deployments ?

Panelist:

• Andrew Aitken, Founder & Managing Partner of Olliance Group
• Feyzi Fatehi, EVP Business Development of Medsphere Systems Corporation
• Doug Tidwell, Senior Software Engineer, Developer Relations - developerWorks of IBM
• Paul Neights, CTO of Del Jen

Speaker Bios:

Andrew Aitken, Founder & Managing Partner of Olliance Group
Olliance Group, the premier independent open source management consulting firm with more than 60 completed open source strategy engagements. Andrew has over 18 years senior management experience in building and leading national professional services companies, including Renaissance Worldwide and eWork. In 2001 Andrew founded Olliance Group with other industry veterans to provide management and business strategy consulting to companies leveraging open source. Andrew has Chaired and spoken internationally at multiple industry and government conferences on the topic of open source and has participated as an expert witness on the issues of open source and e-voting to the California Senate. Andrew is on the Board of Directors of the Open Source Software Institute and the SDForum, and is Chair of their annual Open Source Conference. Additionally Andrew is an Advisor to both the Linuxworld and OSBC conferences. In January 2006, Andrew was primarily responsible for conceptualizing and running the software industry's first ever "think tank" on the future of commercial open source, attended by more than 60 of the industry's top thought leaders and visionaries. He is on the Board of Advisors of SugarCRM, Funambol and Krugle, and has personally advised firms such as; Sun, Intel, Nokia, and numerous VCs and startups on their open source strategies.

Feyzi Fatehi, EVP Business Development of Medsphere Systems Corporation.

Feyzi has over twenty years of experience in building high-performance global businesses. At HP he served as director of global alliances and channels and played a leading role in the creation of a billion dollar enterprise solutions business unit. He subsequently served as corporate officer, board member, or senior executive of three start-ups in Silicon Valley and in Southern California. Feyzi joined Medsphere's founders in early 2002 and is responsible for the company's inorganic growth including strategic alliances and initiatives and mergers and acquisitions. He received a BS in Engineering from UT Austin, an MS in Computer Science from Southwest Texas State, an MBA from Santa Clara University and his Director Certification from UCLA.