Support Models for Open Source Deployment - Programme

by Sebastian Rahtz on 1 April 2004

Introduction

Support Models for Open Source Deployment is a conference exploring support models for open source deployments in UK higher and further education.

Programme:9:30 - 10:00Registration10:00 - 10:20Support Anxiety - the highest barrier to open source deployment?Sebastian Rahtz, Manager, OSS Watch 10:20 - 11:45Do It Yourself Adam Marshall, Senior VLE Developer, University of Oxford Joel Greenberg, Director of Strategic Development, Learning and Teaching Solutions, The Open University You have a detailed problem to solve, you understand the parameters, and you have skilled technical staff. There are open source programs and libraries which you can leverage to get a quick start, and if they have problems, you have full access to the source code to fix them. What are the implications behind a decision to build and maintain the software yourself? How do you control costs, retain skilled staff, and support your software? How do you measure the costs and avoid a completely open-ended commitment?11:45 - 12:00coffee/tea12:00 - 13:15Join a consortium Ian Dolphin, University of Hull and JA-SIG Paul Cooper, OpenAdvantage You can see a solution out there to your needs, perhaps a virtual learning environment, or a content management system, which has been created by a community of people like you. It makes a lot of sense to join in, and contribute your bit, even if you could not maintain the whole thing yourself. How do community-sponsored projects work? How can you measure how much work you will need to put in, and the level of skill your staff will need? 13:15 - 14:15buffet lunch14:15 - 15:30Get consultancy support Michael Sekler, OS Consult John Merrells, Parthenon Computing There are plenty of independent consultancy companies who specialize in supporting and enhancing open source software. If you do not want the commitment of employing your own programmers and support staff, but want the benefits of being part of the open source community, you can pay for contract support. Because the consultants contribute any fixes they make for you back to the community, and take advantage of work done elsewhere, you will keep up with new developments.15:30 - 15:45coffee/tea15:45 - 17:00Vendor support Simon Lidgett, Novell John Heath, Senior Software Architect, Sun Microsystems An increasing number of big companies (IBM, Sun, and Novell among them) see a healthy market in supporting their software in new ways. They provide the programs as open source, but offer the full range of support and consultancy. You deal with a large company which has plenty of dedicated support and expertise, but you have the confidence that the source code is available to you for inspection, security audits, and enhancement.

The conference takes place on Thursday, 3 June, at the Diskus Conference Centre, Transport House, 128 Theobald’s Road, London WC1. The nearest underground station is Holborn; see map http://www.thediskus.com/Map.html.

Support Models for Open Source Deployment is free for delegates from UK higher and further education, however, you must register in order to attend. If you are not from a UK institution of further or higher education but would like to attend this event, please contact OSS Watch prior to registering, info@oss-watch.ac.uk. Availability is limited for this event. Registrations beyond our capacity audience will be placed on a waiting list, and registrants will be notified as soon as a place becomes available. OSS Watch reserves the right to limit the number of delegates attending from a single institution.

Support Models for Open Source Deployment is organised by OSS Watch, http://www.oss-watch.ac.uk/, the open source software advisory service for UK HE and FE. For further information contact info@oss-watch.ac.uk.