Open Source India Tech days (aka LinuxAsia) | 12th-14th March, 2009

Open Source India: An Answer To Economic Meltdown!

India's leading Open Source event is coming to Chennai with the aim to spread awareness about how Linux and other open source technologies can help India to survive, and thrive, despite these 'hard times'!

Manage IT infrastructure better and at lower cost using Open Source.
Develop software “cheaper, faster and better” using Open Source.
Why Open Source makes sense for Governments, SMEs and educational institutions.

New Delhi: In these times of economic meltdown, the mantra “every penny saved is penny earned” has become the rule-of-thumb for all organisations when planning any form of expenditure. While IT managers are hard-pressed to lower their cost of IT Infrastructure, software development firms are looking at better ways of developing software for their clients.

If you go by IT Gurus, FOSS (free and open source) is touted as one of the best solutions to handle these challenges. But can FOSS really help India to gain a competitive edge in 'developing' and 'adopting' IT?

To answer these questions, FOSS experts from across the globe and India are converging together at Open Source India Tech Days. Undoubtedly, India's biggest Linux and Open Source event, OSI Tech Days is scheduled to happen in Chennai from 12th to 14th March 2009 at the Chennai Trade Center. Powered by NRCFOSS, C-DAC, FOSII and LINUX For You, the three-day event will aim to enable India, and Asia, to face the meltdown with the power of open source and Linux technologies.

According to the co-organiser, Rahul Chopra (editor, LINUX For You), “We truly believe that open source can help IT firms to develop software―faster, better and cheaper. Plus, for those adopting IT―open source promises a zero capital expenditure, and a highly reduced operating expenditure. Thus, an event that can demonstrate this capability of open source to the technology decision makers and influencers―would be well suited given the current economic challenge that the nation is facing.”

Earlier known as LinuxAsia, the 2009 edition will mark the fifth edition of the event. It's name was rechristended to Open Source India to reflect the increased maturity of the open source business model, and the growing popularity of the open source phenomenon in India. The “Tech Days” (in the title) signifies the key goal of this edition, which is to demonstrate latest technologies to Indian and Asian IT professionals, and community. Obviosuly, the main audience for OSI Tech Days will be IT Managers and Software Developers. Plus, special seminars are being organised for the IT decision makers and influencers within the following segments: (a) Government, (b) Education, and (c) SMEs.

But why Chennai? There are several reasons which make Chennai an obvious choice for the event this year. India's biggest contribution to the community, the BOSS (Bharat Operating System Solution) project is being run from Chennai. The city also enjoys the presence of NRCFOSS and the IOSN South Asia node along with a very strong FOSS community.

Speaking about the involvement of CDAC and NRCFOSS with OSI, Mr S. Ramakrishnan, director general, C-DAC, says, "The strong presence of CDAC and NRCFOSS in the OSI event is relevant for many reasons. NRCFOSS, the national resource centre for FOSS, is based out of Chennai and is implemented by CDAC Chennai and AU-KBC, Chennai. Awareness building, advocacy and promotion of FOSS adoption are major components of the resource centre. OSI provides an appropriate forum for bringing a wide range of stakeholders together. FOSS in India has come a long way in the last few years, and is mature enough to deserve a much larger market share. Active advocacy through case studies and experience is important at this stage. NRCFOSS at CDAC has brought out BOSS, an Indian Linux distribution which is providing a low cost desktop with rich Indian language support and Indian applications."

He added, "BOSS is now being widely accepted by a number of government and academic institutions. The OSI forum would provide an opportunity to showcase BOSS, and other FOSS innovations from CDAC, to the relevant stakeholders. Above all through NRCFOSS and the IOSN South Asia node, CDAC is also reaching out to other nations in this region in promoting and adopting FOSS; the conference provides an excellent platform for strengthening this linkage. CDAC will be hosting the AsiaOSS meet involving over a dozen countries during the OSI week, which will enable the visiting national representatives to experience FOSS in India."

The last edition of Open Source India was attended by more than 3,000 IT professionals. The organisers expect to match, or even beat, that number this year. Registration for the event is expected to be started on 2nd of February. Additional details about the event are available at www.osidays.com.