SAN JOSE, Calif., March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- SDForum, Silicon Valley's leading source of information and education in the technology community, today announced the Global Open Source Conference to be held on March 24, 2008 at the Swissnex Annex in San Francisco. Speakers at the event will discuss the opportunities for open source software companies and developers thanks to government initiatives using open source, as well as sharing learning lessons and successes from around the world.

"Open source has quickly changed the global software industry," said Don Brown of Atlassian Software Systems, a speaker at the event. "A huge demand has arisen for open source companies worldwide as more governments enforce policies mandating open source and international markets continue to open."

Marten Mickos, CEO of MySQL AB, will deliver the keynote address at the conference. Since joining MySQL as CEO in 2001, the company has grown from a mere start-up to the most popular open source database in the world. His keynote will address the opportunities and challenges ahead for open source as well as global trends that are impacting Silicon Valley.

"SDForum produces events that are often ahead of the technology curve, and this open source event is a great example of our commitment to covering all major tech trends," said Susan Lucas-Conwell, CEO of SDForum. "It is a honor to welcome Marten Mickos, one of the most influential executives in this field, as our keynote speaker. This conference will provide a great forum to those interested or currently involved in the increasingly expanding open source community."

"As a result of greater access to source code, flexible licensing models, cost and other socioeconomic reasons today, open source software is now enjoying widespread adoption across the globe," said Andrew Aitken, Managing Partner for the Olliance Group. "SDForum's Global Open Source Conference will be an invaluable venue for examining new strategies for this surge of growth."

Speakers at the event include: Marten Mickos, MySQL Mark Radcliffe, DLA Piper Sander Ruiter, Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs Tony Wasserman, Carnegie Mellon University Arnaud Le Hors, IBM Don Brown, Atlassian Daniel Chalef, Knowledge Tree Ismael Ghamili, Intalio Chander Kant, Zmanda Vineet Buch, Blue Run Ventures Kevin Efrusy, Accel John Occhipinti, Woodside Fund Rory O'Driscoll, Scale Ventures Event: Global Open Source Conference Dates: Monday, March 24, 2008 Time: 12:00pm - 5:30pm Location: Swissnex Annex, 730 Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA

Price & Registration The event is $85 for SDForum members and $100 for non-members. Visit SDForum's website at http://www.sdforum.org/ for registration, pricing and more details.

Press Registration

Media are invited to attend the event. For media registration, please contact at SDForum@fortythreepr.com.

About SDForum

SDForum has been instrumental in setting the high tech industry agenda for more than 22 years. As a high-tech non-profit dedicated to educating and creating relationships within the technology community, SDForum provides the latest insights on emerging technology trends and best business practices through events, specialized services and resources. The SDForum reaches 12,000 software professionals annually, through more than 20 programs a month that promote emerging technologies and business practices. Long-standing relationships in Silicon Valley include technology companies such as HP, IBM, Microsoft, Nokia, SAP and Sun Microsystems. In addition, SDForum has support from the City of San Jose, and sponsorship from over 30 venture capital firms, financial institutions, multinational enterprises, international trade organizations and service providers. For more information, visit http://www.sdforum.org/.

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