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Business name: Open Source Development Labs Website: www.osdl.org Owners/founders: OSDL is a nonprofit organization and was founded by IBM, HP, CA, Intel, and NEC. Years in business: OSDL was founded in 2000. Product(s): OSDL is a global industry consortium dedicated to accelerating the growth and adoption of Linux and open source software. It provides state-of-the-art computing and test facilities available to developers around the world. With offices in China, Europe, Japan and the United States, OSDL sponsors projects to advance Linux and open source software in the data center, on enterprise desktops, in telecommunications networks and on mobile devices such as cell phones and smartphones. Employees: 40+ Where are the markets (industries and/or businesses if B2B) for your products and how important are local customers for what you produce? Linux and open source software is used by businesses, government and educational institutions throughout the world. The global marketplace demands technologies that allow companies to improve productivity while lowering costs. Governments are involved in a variety of cultural and economic development initiatives involving Linux and open source software. What does your company do to differentiate itself and its products from those of its competitors? OSDL is a nonprofit organization that provides a neutral location where vendors, end users and developers can come together to discuss technical, legal and business challenges and opportunities for Linux and open source. OSDL acts as a facilitator and voice for these collective efforts. Examples of ways in which OSDL does this is through its working groups, industry thought leadership and key initiatives such as the Linux Legal Defense Fund and the Patent Commons Project. How has your business changed in the last 5 years (if it is even 5 years old)? Research firm IDC recently predicted that Linux on servers, the desktop and as packaged software will reach more than $40 billion by 2009. Linux has exploded, hitting the tipping point, over the last five years. Over this same period of time, OSDL has grown from 20 members to an organization today that can boast more than 70 members from around the globe, only a few of which are based in Oregon. Key innovations in your company (products, processes, designs, ideas)? OSDL is unique its position as a vendor-neutral organization that is able to bring diverse groups together to achieve shared goals. The most recent example is the OSDL-hosted Desktop Linux architect's meeting that took place during December in Portland and where participants from around the globe gathered to focus on the issues most critical to the evolution of Linux on the desktop. What's the biggest challenge facing your business? The IT industry is a very competitive market in which Linux and open source software have had great success. The market projections are very high and the development of open standards in all geographies is of great importance as we move towards deeper and deeper penetration of Linux and open source software. OSDL and its members will continue to focus on the acceleration of Linux to enable collaboration and new innovation that moves the IT industry forward. Can you describe how metro Portland works as a base from which to compete? It is natural for OSDL to be based in the Portland metro area. Portland and the greater state of Oregon have ties to a variety of open source initiatives. IBM, Intel, HP, Oracle and Sun conduct Linux and open source software development activities in Oregon. The Open Technology Business Center and Portland State University's Business Accelerator are based in the Portland metro area and bring talent, ideas and capital together to support the growth of open technology businesses and projects. Both Portland State University and Oregon State University are blazing trails for other universities in hosting open source projects such as Firefox, deploying open source on campuses and in including open source in their curriculum.
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