Commercial open source software is at an exciting cross roads. In the last year, its importance has been acknowledged by Gartner which declared open-source software "the biggest disruptor the software industry [Gartner] has ever seen and [Gartner] postulated it will eventually result in cheaper software and new business models." http://lawandlifesiliconvalley.blogspot.com/2007/09/open-source-paradigm-shift.html. The first revision of the General Public License in 15 years was completed. http://lawandlifesiliconvalley.blogspot.com/2007/07/general-public-license-version-3-legal.html. The cloud over Linux created by SCO's litigation, almost forgotten, came to a dramatic end in one of the most spectacular melt downs in the history of intellectual property litigation. And many traditional software companies, such as Adobe and Yahoo, have become involved in open source software. http://netscape.com.com/Year-in-review-New-players-enliven-open-source/2009-7344_3-6223153.html
However, success brings new challenges. We will be discussing those challenges again at the Third Annual Open Source Think Tank on February 7 to 9 at the Silverado resort in Napa Valley which is an invitation only gathering for leading global experts to get together and work collaboratively on the issues facing commercial open source. The Think Tank will focus on the continuing evolution of commercial open source companies, customer adoption trends, impact of software-as-a-service, implications of industry consolidation, and legal developments. The keynote speaker will be Chris Anderson of author of the Long Tail and editor in chief of Wired. For a preview of his thoughts, you can read his interview on Matt Asay's blog: http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9845106-16.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1040_3-0-5.
The Open Source Think Tank is unlike a traditional conference; all the attendees who participate are expected to contribute in the brainstorming and workshop format and to take advantage of the CIO panels. If you are interested, you can apply to participate at https://thinktank.olliancegroup.com/
Like last year, we will publish a report of the results of the http://thinktank.olliancegroup.com/
