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The Incubator Club allows subscribers to obtain sound, independent, advice for their IT managers and strategists on the issues surrounding the practical use of Open Source technology in a corporate environment.
The members of the Club meet on a regular basis. These meetings allow, among other things, the members to discuss issues amongst themselves in confidence and to hear presentations given by leading experts in specific areas. The members decide what is important and the areas of interest.
Veiled sales presentations from vendors are not be tolerated. Presentations are given by those who are working on the development and deployment of Open Source. Presentations are on subjects such as Apache web server & security of web sites, Linux kernel development, Open Source tools for authentication, migrating to Open Office, using Open Source development tools, etc. Some of these presentations are at the technical management level others at a more strategic level. The precise level is for the members to decide.
Attendees are encouraged to give their experiences of deploying and migrating to Open Source. These are then written up as case studies and put onto the Incubator Club web site. All information is kept in the strictest confidence and all members are required to respect the confidence of others.
netproject commissions consultants with appropriate experience to undertake research projects into areas defined by subscribers. These include, for instance, reports into cost of ownership, detailed migration strategies in specific areas, guidance on the use of Open Source to meet Government / European regulations, etc.
netproject provides a news service which keeps subscribers informed of significant issues as they arise. In particular issues of security are closely monitored.
netproject has developed the Incubator Club content management site. Subscribers can update this site so that they can directly share their experiences. This site is kept up to date with the latest news and relevant developments in the area of Open Source.
Where there is an identified requirement for specific workshops, e.g. meta directory services, DNS configuration & administration, Open Source software development tools, etc. an independent consultant with the relevant expertise will be commissioned to develop and run a workshop. Incubator Club members are offered a discounted price for attending.
If a 'hot issue' is identified then The Incubator Club will put on a mini conference to deal with the subject, for example a conference was recently run on Trusted Computing. This was the first public conference where the head of Microsoft's trusted computing initiative presented on their strategy. presentations were also given by the leading Open Source developers on how Open Source can provide trusted computing.
netproject runs a strategic management workshop on site for new members. The purpose is to help gain a common understanding of the important issues surrounding Open Source at a senior management level. If there is a requirement for several of these workshops will presented at a discount to the normal fee.
Where several subscribers have a common set of issues, such as security of financial transactions or very large scale transaction processing, then a sub-group will be established to address these issues. netproject has used these groupings to obtain funding from the UK Government for Research & Development.
Those using Open Source need to look at their exposure to risk. If they are dependant on one or more packages from small projects they need to know what steps to take to nurture that project and to mitigate any risk of its discontinuation. Organisations using Open Source need to find a way of giving back to the OS community. netproject can facilitate the formation of consortia to smooth the way for projects that they find strategic. The investment will not necessarily be in the form of money. Rather the investment could be in the form of funding infrastructure support (SourceForge is not the best environment for many of these projects) and providing high quality technical assistance either as seconded staff or as bought in technical experts.
netproject suggests that subscribers deploy pilot Open Source systems. In particular use of Open Source on the desktop enables experience to be gained with alternatives to Microsoft. For most the deployment of a Linux desktop is some way off and for many is not yet being considered. However there are several benefits from deploying an Open Source desktop at an early stage. These include:
netproject will provide an agreed amount of consultancy and support to help subscribers get the pilots integrated into their existing infrastructure. Further consultancy, system implementation and support can then be done at an agreed fee rate.
netproject aims to provide unbiased practical advice to its clients which allows them to have choice. This means that, although recognised as one of the leading consultancies in Open Source, we understand need to run a mixed environment, and so we do not take a dogmatic stance on the use of Open Source.
The principals of netproject have been working in the area of Unix and now Linux for over 20 years. They have been responsible for the design and deployment of systems that have a reputation for providing highly reliable, cost effective, computing in a range of areas including Financial Services.
netproject is an independent company that is owned by the directors. netproject does not sell any hardware or software and does not have any relationships with vendors for the sale of their products. netproject does not accept any commissions from hardware or software vendors.
netproject is well respected in the Open Source community and is contributing to the development of several Open Source projects. This enables netproject to steer the course of several Open Source developments.
netproject has worked on several very high profile Open Source projects and netproject consultants are currently working with a number of organisations that are deploying Open Source software.
netproject was responsible for the development of Open Source Migration Guidelines for the European Commission. A web version is available at: http://www.netproject.com/docs/migoss/v1.0/
The Incubator Club has received a large amount of media coverage world wide. Articles include:
USA Today: Linux may carve out bigger niche in desktop PC market http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-02-16-linux_x.htm
The Register: Shush! OSS outfit forms secret society to combat MS hit teams http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/01/30/shush_oss_outfit_forms_secret/
and for French speakers the following in le Monde http://wiki.crao.net/index.php/NetProjet