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Did you already take RHEV for a test drive? Are you looking for an Enterprise grade virtualization solution to replace your proprietary one? Find out what the fuss is all about and join us on December 9th.

During the technical track of the Open Source Conference we will demonstrate the latest version of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization. The Red Hat Solution Architect team is there to answer all your questions and demonstrate a full blown RHEV 3.0 setup.

The hardware for this demo will be provided by Inprove,a solutions provider with focus on Open Storage, Open Network and Open Compute. For more information please visit their website at www.inprove.nl

Enterprise applications are going open in a big way as companies worldwide see the benefits of open sourcing internal software projects. Fortune 100 names such as SAP, AOL, Yahoo! and others recognize that open sourcing a project is no longer a technical or legal decision but one that flows from a company’s business strategy. One of the interesting aspects of open sourcing a project is it cuts into new territories cross-enterprise, involving cultural, HR, and morale issues for enterprises and their development organizations.

Open sourcing a project boost morale among developers and serves as a recruiting tool. From a strategic perspective it’s allowing companies to build better products faster by shifting the focus of development energy to areas of differentiation which provide new value for end customers.

While open source is not a panacea – it’s not simply a way to re-invigorate old products – it does help companies get back to their core – who are we, how will we compete and differentiate against our competitors. Companies considering open sourcing code, projects, and/or applications must first answer some key questions:

• Is it interesting to people outside the organization?
• Is it useful to other enterprise users?
• Will third parties use the software?

And if you’re going to open source some code, contribution agreements are an important element consideration. There are different approaches in the open source ecosystem as to how contributions are used or developed. Many projects rely on the project license. That’s probably the most common approach; it’s certainly the approach that Linux takes. Other projects, like Apache and Eclipse, use a separate contribution agreement. The Free Software Foundation requires an assignment of the intellectual property rights to the project rather than just the license. The underlying concerns here are assignment of copyright and patent rights. In short, contribution agreements should be part of your open source strategy and management policy.

Finally, remember that despite the attention paid to licensing, it is not the only important factor. Value and community are also crucial. If you’re thinking of open sourcing an internal project, choose one which will showcase the efforts of your development team. Pick a project that’s appealing and it will attract its own community. Don’t try to force a project on a community or browbeat your way in – be prepared to engage and respond.

Enterprises of all shapes and sizes are turning to open source to solve a host of development challenges, not to mention the pure reward of working collaboratively with a global group of like-minded people. Look at both successful companies and companies that have been unsuccessful with open source, and move forward from this analysis to adoption.

Open source isn’t just a technical choice – it’s a new way of doing business.

Blog entry by: http://www.blackducksoftware.com