CONFERENCE KEYNOTE
Peer Heinlein is a law graduate, IT and open source specialist and author. He has been running his own Internet service provider since 1992 and has published several specialised books. He is the founder and managing director of the Heinlein Group, which includes the IT service provider Heinlein Support, the e-mail provider mailbox.org, the video conferencing solution OpenTalk and the file management solution OpenCloud.
As an expert in secure electronic communication, Peer Heinlein is a member of the extended board of the German Open Source Business Alliance.
Topic of speech:
A community has to do, what a community has to do
What happens when proprietary products are discontinued or taken over by competitors?
Suddenly you are faced with unexpected decisions: A migration becomes necessary, new costs arise and you are often forced to work with service providers that you would rather avoid.
Open source software (OSS) promises an alternative here: it offers the freedom to further develop the code yourself – alone or with new partners. You can set up your own support structures, are not forced to migrate and can react flexibly to strategic changes of course by manufacturers. In short: OSS can never really be taken away from you.
This talk shares a very recent story: about software that simply wasn’t allowed to die, and a team determined to keep going. It also highlights where theory meets reality – and how to tackle the headwinds you’ll face when you decide to just go for it. Because one thing is certain: A community has to do what a community has to do.