LinuxForce Open Source Planner

OSS [Open Source Software] is a viable long-term solution that merits careful consideration because of the potential for significant cost, reliability, and support advantages.
-- Mitre White Paper, "A Business Case Study of Open Source Software"

Every organization needs an Open Source Plan

KB Toys has one. eBay has one. Disney has one. About 86 percent of the Fortune 1000 companies now are either deploying or testing key open source products, and 35 percent of them are deploying more than 20 percent of their systems in open source according to Larry Augustin of Azure Capital Partners. Eleven percent of Fortune 1000 companies report that more than 20 percent of their applications are open source. In addition, Open Source provides a way to mitigate the vulnerabilities inherent in over-reliance on a single operating system. CIO magazine published an in depth article, Your Open Source Plan, which explains in detail why every organization needs an Open Source Plan.

A CIO survey of information executives found that 54 per cent said that within five years Open Source would be their dominant server platform.

LinuxForce's Open Source Planner^SM

The LinuxForce Open Source Planner^SM is a software planning service to help your organization develop an Open Source Plan appropriate for your business. Our sales and engineering staff will show you how and why open source is fast becoming an essential component of every organization's software infrastructure. We will examine your situation to determine the appropriate use of open source software in your organization. The Open Source Planner^SM Process consists of examining each of your computing systems to identify opportunities where open source can improve the cost, performance, reliability, and security of your operations. Then we will present a detailed, written Open Source Plan for your organization. The Plan will include short term and long term recommendations for rolling out open source software to benefit your organization.

Resources:

• CIO Magazine's article on "The Myths of Open Source"
• CIO Magazine's article on "Your Open Source Plan".
• The Open Source Definition.

OSI News Weblog ( 1 February 00:00 EST)

• OPEN SOURCE INITIATIVE (OSI) ANNOUNCES EXPANDED PROGRAMS, COUNSEL, AND BOARD
  The OSI (Open Source Initiative) has announced an intention to expand the scope of its activities, new counsel, and new board members. Most notably that OSI co-founder Eric S. Raymond will be stepping aside.

  Complete PR

• Five Newly Approved Licenses
  The OSI board has approved five new licenses for certification.
  • Apache License, Version 2.0
  • CUA Office Public License Version 1.0
  • EU DataGrid Software License
  • Fair License
  • Lucent Public License Version 1.02
  -Steve
• UK Advertising Standards Body Tells MS to "Get the Facts"
  Microsoft's "Get the Facts" advertising campaign has been given a black eye by a United Kingdom advertising standards body. The body says the ads are 'misleading'. That's kind considering the so called 'tests' that back up their claim were found to run on completely mismatched hardware.

  "Microsoft said the machines were as comparable as possible--a Linux image on IBM's z900 mainframe CPUs and a Windows Server 2003 image running on two 900MHz Xeon CPUs--and wasn't hardware specific.

  The ASA, nevertheless, thought consumers might not see it that way and that the "Windows vs. Linux" stance might lead people into thinking running Microsoft's OS--not the "competing file serving set-ups"--was cheaper than one based on Linux.

  The group has asked Microsoft to amend its ads and urged the company to in the future be advised on its campaigns by the Committee of Advertising Practices' Copy Advice Team.