Open Source Software Implementation And Management

In 2004/5, over half of IT professionals will be looking at open source, most for the first time. This book provides key tools for System administrators, Network Administrators, IT project managers, and consultants who must evaluate and deploy open source software. This book details open source successes so far, explains which scenarios are the most realistic opportunities now, then gives the details needed to select these solutions, adopt the best tools and practices, introduce them to an organization, implement and manage them. The IT professional can use this book to review opportunities in their organization, evaluate components such as Apache, Linux, and OpenOffice against systems they know, and follow up in detail on their specific interests here and through referred resources. *Deployment scenarios categorized by function and industry *Rules of thumb on where and when open source software is or is not the right choice *Roadmaps for deployment in terms of the components of open source

This book enables you to leverage the state-of-the-art of creating open source based business models and of managing open source in the development cycle of commercial software and during due diligence in mergers and acquisitions. In addition, it provides information about why investments in open source makes sense. Practitioners, investors and consultants created this book to help professionals in the software business like investors, executives, business developers, product managers, architects, developers, quality managers, development operations managers as well as students to get acquainted and proficient in using open source products in a commercial context. First, the focus is on business model impact of open source products and open source licenses. Dr. Karl Michael Popp gives an overview of the different types of business models for open source companies. Dr. Josef Waltl shows how open source licenses and intellectual property strategies can create a unique business model based on a combination of open source and proprietary software. Then, the focus is on detection and license compliance aspects of open source software in mergers and acquisitions. The acquisition of a software vendor requires the review of intellectual property rights including open source license compliance as described by Dr. Karl Michael Popp. The following new chapter, authored by Joseph Jacks from OSS Capital, provides fundamentals of the open source business by elaborating on value creation and value capture for commercial open source companies. Then, two chapters cover the offerings of tool vendors for governance of open source software but also for development enablement. First, Bill Weinberg and Greg Olsen show the broad offering of solutions of Black Duck Software, a provider for open source governance and enablement tools. The next, new chapter, provided by Snyk, focuses on development aspects of using open source software as part of commercial products like assistance for developers in selection and in continuously updating open source components during the software development lifecycle.

"IT organizatons are increasingly investigating the use of open source software for its cost-effectiveness and flexibility. However, myths about open source software persist - for example, that it runs only on Linux or that it is not stable enough for demanding production environments. Dispelling those myths, leading companies such as Amazon.com and Google rely on open source software, and many more companies will make the switch in the years ahead." "Succeeding with Open Source is the first book written specifically for IT managers who need to evaluate, select, and use open source software. The author begins with the fundamentals of open source solutions and how they differ greatly from commercial software. He then introduces the Open Source Maturity Model (OSMM), an invaluable resource for assessing open source products for their production readiness."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Open source software is changing the world of Information Technology. But making it work for your company is far more complicated than simply installing a copy of Linux. If you are serious about using open source to cut costs, accelerate development, and reduce vendor lock-in, you must institutionalize skills and create new ways of working. You must understand how open source is different from commercial software and what responsibilities and risks it brings. Open Source for the Enterprise is a sober guide to putting open source to work in the modern IT department. Open source software is software whose code is freely available to anyone who wants to change and redistribute it. New commercial support services, smaller licensing fees, increased collaboration, and a friendlier platform to sell products and services are just a few of the reasons open source is so attractive to IT departments. Some of the open source projects that are in current, widespread use in businesses large and small include Linux, FreeBSD, Apache, MySQL, PostgreSQL, JBOSS, and Perl. These have been used to such great effect by Google, Amazon, Yahoo!, and major commercial and financial firms, that a wave of publicity has resulted in recent years, bordering on hype. Large vendors such as IBM, Novell, and Hewlett Packard have made open source a lynchpin of their offerings. Open source has entered a new area where it is being used as a marketing device, a collaborative software development methodology, and a business model. This book provides something far more valuable than either the cheerleading or the fear-mongering one hears about open source. The authors are Dan Woods, former CTO of TheStreet.com and a consultant and author of several books about IT, and Gautam Guliani, Director of Software Architecture at Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions. Each has used open source software for some 15 years at IT departments large and small. They have collected the wisdom of a host of experts from IT departments, open source communities, and software companies. Open Source for the Enterprise provides a top to bottom view not only of the technology, but of the skills required to manage it and the organizational issues that must be addressed. Here are the sorts of questions answered in the book: Why is there a "productization gap" in most open source projects? How can the maturity of open source be evaluated? How can the ROI of open source be calculated? What skills are needed to use open source? What sorts of open source projects are appropriate for IT departments at the beginner, intermediate, advanced, and expert levels? What questions need to be answered by an open source strategy? What policies for governance can be instituted to control the adoption of open source? What new commercial services can help manage the risks of open source? Do differences in open source licenses matter? How will using open source transform an IT department? Praise for Open Source for the Enterprise:"Open Source has become a strategic business issue; decisions on how andwhere to choose to use Open Source now have a major impact on theoverall direction of IT abilities to support the business both withcapabilities and by controlling costs. This is a new game and onegenerally not covered in existing books on Open Source which continue toassume that the readers are 'deep dive' technologists, Open Source for the Enterprise provides everyone from business managers to technologistswith the balanced view that has been missing. Well worth the time toread, and also worth encouraging others in your enterprise to read as well." ----Andy Mulholland - Global CTO Capgemini "Open Source for the Enterprise is required reading for anyone workingwith or looking to adopt open source technologies in a corporateenvironment. Its practical, no-BS approach will make sure you're armedwith the information you need to deploy applications successfully (aswell as helping you know when to say "no"). If you're trying to sell opensource to management, this book will give you the ammunition you need.If you're a manager trying to drive down cost using open source, thisbook will tell you what questions to ask your staff. In short, it's aclear, concise explanation of how to successfully leverage open sourcewithout making the big mistakes that can get you fired." ----Kevin Bedell - founding editor of LinuxWorld Magazine

What are your current levels and trends in key Open-source software development measures or indicators of product and process performance that are important to and directly serve your customers? How do we maintain Open-source software development's Integrity? At what point will vulnerability assessments be performed once Open-source software development is put into production (e.g., ongoing Risk Management after implementation)? What business benefits will Open-source software development goals deliver if achieved? A compounding model resolution with available relevant data can often provide insight towards a solution methodology; which Open-source software development models, tools and techniques are necessary? This valuable Open-source software development self-assessment will make you the entrusted Open-source software development domain master by revealing just what you need to know to be fluent and ready for any Open-source software development challenge. How do I reduce the effort in the Open-source software development work to be done to get problems solved? How can I ensure that plans of action include every Open-source software development task and that every Open-source software development outcome is in place? How will I save time investigating strategic and tactical options and ensuring Open-source software development opportunity costs are low? How can I deliver tailored Open-source software development advise instantly with structured going-forward plans? There's no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed best-selling author Gerard Blokdyk. Blokdyk ensures all Open-source software development essentials are covered, from every angle: the Open-source software development self-assessment shows succinctly and clearly that what needs to be clarified to organize the business/project activities and processes so that Open-source software development outcomes are achieved. Contains extensive criteria grounded in past and current successful projects and activities by experienced Open-source software development practitioners. Their mastery, combined with the uncommon elegance of the self-assessment, provides its superior value to you in knowing how to ensure the outcome of any efforts in Open-source software development are maximized with professional results. Your purchase includes access to the $249 value Open-source software development self-assessment dashboard download which gives you your dynamically prioritized projects-ready tool and shows your organization exactly what to do next. Your exclusive instant access details can be found in your book.

What are your current levels and trends in key Open-source software development measures or indicators of product and process performance that are important to and directly serve your customers? How do we maintain Open-source software development's Integrity? At what point will vulnerability assessments be performed once Open-source software development is put into production (e.g., ongoing Risk Management after implementation)? What business benefits will Open-source software development goals deliver if achieved? A compounding model resolution with available relevant data can often provide insight towards a solution methodology; which Open-source software development models, tools and techniques are necessary? This valuable Open-source software development self-assessment will make you the entrusted Open-source software development domain master by revealing just what you need to know to be fluent and ready for any Open-source software development challenge. How do I reduce the effort in the Open-source software development work to be done to get problems solved? How can I ensure that plans of action include every Open-source software development task and that every Open-source software development outcome is in place? How will I save time investigating strategic and tactical options and ensuring Open-source software development opportunity costs are low? How can I deliver tailored Open-source software development advise instantly with structured going-forward plans? There's no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed best-selling author Gerard Blokdyk. Blokdyk ensures all Open-source software development essentials are covered, from every angle: the Open-source software development self-assessment shows succinctly and clearly that what needs to be clarified to organize the business/project activities and processes so that Open-source software development outcomes are achieved. Contains extensive criteria grounded in past and current successful projects and activities by experienced Open-source software development practitioners. Their mastery, combined with the uncommon elegance of the self-assessment, provides its superior value to you in knowing how to ensure the outcome of any efforts in Open-source software development are maximized with professional results. Your purchase includes access to the $249 value Open-source software development self-assessment dashboard download which gives you your dynamically prioritized projects-ready tool and shows your organization exactly what to do next. Your exclusive instant access details can be found in your book.

"This book reviews the development, design, and use of free and open source software, providing relevant topics of discussion for programmers, as well as researchers in human-computer studies, online and virtual collaboration, and e-learning"--Provided by publisher.

Participation of firms in Open Source Software (OSS) development is steadily increasing. In fact, a substantial part of OSS projects today are developed in informal collaboration between firms and a community of voluntary contributors. As more and more firms are active in OSS, acquisitions of firms active in OSS development occur increasingly often. Yet, despite the economic and practical importance of OSS, research has so far overlooked this phenomenon. This dissertation explores this phenomenon of acquisitions of firms active in OSS development. Michael Vetter examines the role of OSS in the pre-acquisition phase and the impact of acquisitions on OSS development in the post-acquisition phase. Using qualitative and quantitative research methods, the author examines acquisition motives, acquisition likelihood, timing of acquisitions, and outcomes of acquisitions and discuss mechanisms behind variations across acquisitions.The findings from the studies contribute to research on acquisitions and OSS development while also providing insights into how to leverage OSS in target search, selection and evaluation processes as well as how to effectively manage acquisitions of firms active in OSS and the communities around them.