Open Source as a money maker
Medium-sized enterprises who want to find out more about open source software applications will be on the lookout for the combined stand of the Linux associations Lisog and LIVE in Hall 7.2b. Business experts will be on hand there to discuss and answer questions for the entire duration of the fair. The organizers have made it possible for those interested to field their questions and provide topics for debate in advance by emailing erfolgsquelle@messe-berlin.de, which will make it easier for their discussion partners to prepare for them beforehand.
Linux is worthwhile
The message from over 40 companies exhibiting at LinuxTag is clear: they earn money with free software. How is that possible? Ralph Dehner of B1 Systems GmbH from the south of Germany, an exhibitor at LinuxTag and an enterprise dealing in Linux and open Source which specializes in high availability and virtualization for open source solutions: "Linux and open source software guarantee free protocols and data formats, which in a professional environment offers a lot of advantages." He points to the fact that many successful start-ups of recent years, such as Amazon, Google and Facebook, have based their platforms on Linux and open source software, and asks: is yours too…?”
Christopher Hackett, sales director of Talend GmbH confirms that LinuxTag is the right place to take a close look at professional open source applications : "Data and integrating data into all kinds of systems forms the basis of every business transaction. However traditional data integration using proprietary software is a complex and above all expensive affair. At LinuxTag we demonstrate how easy and flexible modern data integration can be.”
The fact that LinuxTag is a mixture of genuine open source enterprises and volunteers is reiterated by the leader of a project that could not be more independent. Stefano Zacchiroli, manager of the Debian project: "Normally I prefer conferences where the focus is on the community, and the community only. Nonetheless, LinuxTag has managed to strike a good balance between communities and companies which have links with one other."
Business & Public Sector Authorities Conference
On Wednesday 11, and Thursday, 12 May at the Business & Public Sector Authorities Conference (BuBK) the focus will be on reports and case studies from companies and public sector authorities, with IT decision-makers addressing their counterparts in the audience. IT service management methods, usually in the form of the ITIL standard, help keep everything under control in the data processing centre, even if it is only one’s own computer room. In this context open source offers a variety of tools. Thus at the sessions on Wednesday, the topics of monitoring, reporting, a service help desk and inventory systems will be on the agenda. Other considerations are reliability, easy handling and scalability. Each topic has its own separate track: high availability, cloud management solutions and virtualization, with attention focusing on KVM and Xen, sandbox systems such as LXC and OpenVZ, as well as desktop virtualization and SPICE.
Linux is a money maker not only with server infrastructures but with applications as well. Exhibits demonstrating VoIP telephony, project management, groupware, as well as a special focus on SAP application environments which are especially suited to Linux, await visitors on 11 May. A special track will be devoted to the special needs of public sector authorities and administrations, which will highlight municipalities involved with open source software using project and release management, as operated by the Bavarian capital Munich and the SAGA framework for public sector authority applications. A summary of current Linux Office applications will round off the Business & Public Sector Authorities Conference.
Keynotes – the power of open source
Four keynote speeches delivered by recognised international speakers will focus on the strengths of Linux and open source from various overlapping perspectives.
Wednesday, 11 May, 2 p.m. - Wim Coekaerts, senior vice-president of Linux and Virtualization Engineering, Oracle - "Taking Linux into the Clouds": Virtualization and cloud computing enable companies to react flexibly to the demands of their applications. However, the question IT decision-makers are asking is what impact this has on IT in their companies. Wim Coekaerts knows the situation only too well. Following recent purchases his company is running several virtualization applications. From the perspective of a real production environment he will describe how applications are increasingly being delivered to the customer as packaged appliances and how this affects operating systems.
Friday, 13 May, 1 p.m. - Bradley Kuhn, executive director, Software Freedom Conservancy - "12 Years of FLOSS License Compliance, a Historical Perspective": Should companies who enhance and expand open source programs be issued with open source licences? This is an issue for debate. Many providers of embedded systems have already gone down this path, as have industry giants such as Google with Android. Bradley Kuhn will explain the challenges facing companies where licensing issues are concerned. For many years Kuhn was managing director of the Free Software Foundation and has co-authored important licensing agreements, including GPLv3.
Friday, 13 May, 2 p.m. - Daniel Walsh, SELinux head developer, Red Hat - "SELinux Sandboxing": If the code contained in free software can be read, then how do those responsible for protecting it know that attempts will not be made to hack one’s way into it? This is a question which an organization deeply involved with this field will be answering: SELinux came about as a Linux extension written by the US news agency NSA in the year 2000. Since 2003 SELinux has become an open source component of the regular Linux kernel. Its current administrator Daniel Walsh will describe how, using SELinux, he is able to lock users of programs inside so-called sandboxes in a way that prevents them from doing any damage.
Saturday, 14 May, 2 p.m. - Claudia Sommer, web manager, Greenpeace - "How Open Source changes the world": LinuxTag has prepared a very special keynote for Saturday, a day that is particularly popular with visitors. The legendary environmental organization Greenpeace conducts its campaigns using open source software. Claudia Sommer casts a glance behind the scenes and demonstrates how the impact of the topic of free software, which for some still has a geeky aura, has gone straight to the heart of issues affecting society.
Acting patron backs open source in the public sector
Cornelia Rogall-Grothe, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior and the federal government’s IT officer, is acting as patron of the event. "Open standards and free software create markets and help to rapidly close IT security loopholes. In the end everyone benefits, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises", she says, explaining her decision. In order for open source applications to be considered equal alternatives when a decision to buy software is made, Ms. Rogall-Grothe recommends federal government authorities come to LinuxTag to exchange views.
Premium tickets for honorary sponsors
A comprehensive package and support for the community. A premium ticket for admission to LinuxTag enables trade visitors to visit the entire programme of lectures on all four days, including the Business & Public Sector Authorities Conference, and offers free use of the cloakrooms. Holders of a premium ticket are also invited to attend the LinuxNight. A premium ticket, for which an invoice will be provided separately specifying VAT, costs 250 euros. Above all it means the following: by purchasing premium tickets, ticket holders support the open source community and enable independent project to exhibit at LinuxTag. They also act as honorary sponsors, as it were, for which LinuxTag e.V. wishes to express its sincerest gratitude.
About LinuxTag
LinuxTag is Europe’s leading specialist trade fair and conference for all aspects of open source Linux and free software. This four-day event has been taking place since 1996, and since 2007 it has been held annually on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds. It offers the very latest information for professional users, decision-makers, developers, newcomers and the community. In addition to the programme of papers and a separate conference for business and public sector authorities, LinuxTag traditionally includes an exhibition featuring projects and companies associated with the open source sector. Verein LinuxTag e.V. is the non-commercial organizer of the event, which it stages jointly with Messe Berlin GmbH. More information is available at www.linuxtag.org.