Apachecon 2009

[Pierre Smits]

Who will be visiting Apachecon 2009 in Amsterdam?

Details can be found here:
http://www.eu.apachecon.com/c/aceu2009/about/press

[Jeroen van der Wal-2]

I have not decided yet. Too bad there's nothing on OFBiz like in New Orleans.

If more OFBiz enthousiast are visiting Amsterdam I can host a drink or
meeting, our office is very close to the conference venue.

-Jeroen

On Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 11:26 AM, Pierre Smits <[hidden email]> wrote:
> Who will be visiting Apachecon 2009 in Amsterdam?
>
> Details can be found here:
> http://www.eu.apachecon.com/c/aceu2009/about/press
>

[David E Jones-3]

The participation at ApacheCon in New Orleans was a bit different than  
what happens in most conferences, though in a way appropriate  
considering OFBiz is a community-driven project.

The things we had to arrange for in order to get the OFBiz Symposium  
at the conference going were:

1. speakers
2. sponsors

The thing that was totally unknown was the attendees. It turned out  
that probably over 50% of the session attendees were also speakers,  
hence my comments that it was appropriate given that OFBiz is so  
community driven. Most of the people who attended did so in order to  
present...

I went out on a limb telling the ConCom that we could muster enough  
speakers for 14 presentations (2 full days, including evenings), but  
it worked out fine. I was pretty confident we could given past OFBiz  
User Conference participation.

In Europe I don't know what it would be like. I'd be comfortable  
saying we could at least fill 1 full day given the people I'm aware of  
in Europe, and perhaps even more than that.

It might be a little late now to organize something or ApacheCon 2009  
in Amsterdam, but how about getting the conversation started so we can  
be ready when the next one comes around?

On that note, please reply to this thread on the mailing list or  
contact me directly if you would be interested in presenting at an  
ApacheCon Europe. While we're at it, if anyone would be interested in  
presenting at ApacheCon Asia please also speak up.

I know there is a LOT of activity in other parts of the world, and it  
would be great to foster that as well as demonstrate it with this.

-David


On Jan 16, 2009, at 4:15 AM, Jeroen van der Wal wrote:

> I have not decided yet. Too bad there's nothing on OFBiz like in New  
> Orleans.
>
> If more OFBiz enthousiast are visiting Amsterdam I can host a drink or
> meeting, our office is very close to the conference venue.
>
> -Jeroen
>
> On Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 11:26 AM, Pierre Smits  
> <[hidden email]> wrote:
>> Who will be visiting Apachecon 2009 in Amsterdam?
>>
>> Details can be found here:
>> http://www.eu.apachecon.com/c/aceu2009/about/press
>>

[Wicus]

For an Open Source type development, OFBiz is the answer to third world Countries.

Poor currencies, with enormous exchange rates, makes Linux with OFBiz the ultimate solution for developing nations.

Taking a stab in dark (or at least where this is still light), may I ask what the feasibility would be to host an ApacheCon in South Africa (Johannesburg) ?

[David E Jones-3]

On Jan 23, 2009, at 3:49 AM, Wicus wrote:

>
> For an Open Source type development, OFBiz is the answer to third  
> world
> Countries.
>
> Poor currencies, with enormous exchange rates, makes Linux with  
> OFBiz the
> ultimate solution for developing nations.

While I agree that this would be a great thing for developing  
economies, and help them compete much better with more developed  
economies, it's still difficult to "sell" to them.

There is a funny thing about not having (which I know from some  
experience) and that is you want the things that people who "have"  
enjoy. This is a generality and obviously not fair to many, but it  
seems that for those who have the least financial means consider price  
to be the most significant factor in their decision making, even to  
the point where they equate price with quality and utility. In other  
words, it's easy to see even the cheapest commercial solution as  
better than the open source solutions. People hate to compromise, and  
if they go for open source just because it's cheaper, they won't  
really ever get into it.

The only selling point that makes sense is flexibility and  
empowerment. That is true whether you're selling to a Fortune 500  
company in the USA or a 50 person sweat shop in sub-Saharan Africa.

Another thing to consider is the smaller a company gets the less  
they'll be able to afford, and the more they'll need a package that is  
already tailored to their needs. That is true even though  
customization labour is cheaper in developing nations, or in other  
words, the lower developer prices don't actually help that much to  
solve the problems of smaller organizations.

What they REALLY need is a number of packages that are tailored to  
their specific types of organizations. OFBiz may eventually get there  
with various "specialpurpose" apps, but someone has to build them, and  
chances are it isn't going to be the same people (or people in the  
same organizations) that will use the apps.

In the open source world we can hopefully get more people (like many  
involved in OFBiz) who are working for or with end-user organizations  
that have a little more funding and that can sponsor functionality  
that goes back into the open source project, and eventually get to the  
point where it is within reach of these organizations in developing  
countries. That's the path we're on now, as I see it.

A nice path with be a Ubuntu-like path with a benefactor like Mark  
Shuttleworth. That would definitely push things along much more  
quickly, and also increase the chances of it being useful for this  
particular purpose. Interestingly related to your next comment, Mr.  
Shuttleworth has strong connections in the area you mentioned for an  
ApacheCon event.

Of course, it doesn't have to be him... it could be anyone with money  
that is willing to sponsor design and development efforts. If we're  
lucky someone in such a position will recognize that OFBiz is the ONLY  
real community-driven ERP/CRM/ecommerce/etc project out there and that  
it is already heading in the right direction.

If someone like that came along I'd be happy to go work full-time for  
them! ;)

In the mean time, OFBiz survives on the backs of a bunch of people who  
are skilled but not wealthy, and who contribute as much as they as  
part of their day jobs that keep them alive, and the rest comes from  
donations of personal time and effort. I'm not aware of anyone  
involved in OFBiz who has no financial needs or concerns, perhaps some  
more than others, but AFAIK we're all in a similar boat of working for  
a living, and choosing to do so using tools that allow us to really  
deliver what our customers/clients/etc need, and that just maybe will  
make a real difference in the world too and make life better for lots  
of people.

> Taking a stab in dark (or at least where this is still light), may I  
> ask
> what the feasibility would be to host an ApacheCon in South Africa
> (Johannesburg) ?

You'd have to bring that up with the ASF Conference Committee (ConCom)  
which does ApahceCon conferences, and who were generous and inclusive  
enough to involve us in the New Orleans event, and have expressed that  
we are very welcome to participate in other events (wherever we can  
get enough people to present, etc).

-David