Open Source Business Alliance

The Open Source Business Alliance is a German non-profit business development organization with a focus on Linux kernel-based solution stacks composed of free and open-source software.

History

LiSoG Logo

Linux Solutions Group (LiSoG) was founded in 2005 in Stuttgart.^[1] The group has about 120 members (April 2011) and branch offices in Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna,^[2] Zurich, Palo Alto and Toronto. The members are providers, user companies, and scientific partners such as universities.

In 2011, LiSoG was merged with the Linux-Verband (LIVE) association, and the new organization was named Open Source Business Alliance.^[3]

Goals

General goals

• Promotion of complete solutions composed of free and open-source software programs.
• The OSB-Alliance aims to help companies with developing an open source based business strategy due to the general advantages and benefits of open-source software. (cf. Business models for open-source software). Many providers of an open source stack had a proprietary offering only.

The LiSoG (Linux Solutions Group) cloud computing initiative brings this stack into several clouds. The infrastructure partners in Germany (IaaS) are Noris Network and Fujitsu. LiSoG works together with the Open Cloud Initiative, initiated by Sam Johnston to provide a full open source cloud enterprise stack. The main goal here is to avoid a vendor lock-in for clients.

Task groups

• EVB-IT: They are supplementary conditions of contracts regarding the procurement of IT services. The templates for call for bids, derived from these supplementary conditions, require a reformulation because they discriminate against businesses that offer free and open-source software-based solutions.

• The Open Thin Client Alliance works on some RDP-based solution for an operating system independent Thin-client infrastructure (but the Remote Desktop Protocol is proprietary...)

• The initiative Deutsche Wolke wants to create solution stacks for cloud computing composed entirely of free and open-source software for "Infrastructure as a service" (IaaS) and also for "Software as a service" (SaaS), which shall be exclusively provided by data centers in Germany.

• The fourth project wants to improve inter-operatability between the ODF and the OOXML file formats.

Board

The board of LiSog consisted of 12 members:

• Dr. Karl-Heinz Strassemeyer, IBM Deutschland Entwicklung (Chairman)
• Hyder Hod, ownCloud (Deputy Chairman)
• Thomas Uhl, Topalis Holding GmbH (Deputy Chairman)
• Prof. Dr. Helmut Krcmar, Technische Universität München
• Henriette Baumann, integratio GmbH
• Karl-Eugen Binder, Stuttgarter Lebensversicherung
• Martin Jähn, Unternehmensberatung Martin Jähn & Partner GmbH
• Niels Mache, struktur AG
• Jens Ziemann, Red Hat
• Elmar Geese, tarent solutions GmbH
• Peter Ganten, Univention GmbH
• Rico Barth, Cape IT GmbH

Lisog open source stack

Open Source Integration Initiative (OSII)

LiSoG initiated a project intended to integrate the single components through a SOA strategy. The project is hosted by MFG in Stuttgart and founded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology within the Central Innovation Programme SME.^[4]

References

1. ↑ article about the foundation of Lisog on Golem
2. ↑ article about LiSoG in COMPUTERWELT
3. ↑ article about LIVE/LiSoG merger in COMPUTERWOCHE
4. ↑ SME/ZIM Programme of German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology

External links

• Official website
• Open Cloud Principles