The IT industry of the Benelux is coming together to analyze the
impact that Linux has on the IT environment.
Brussels, May 17 1999. Following the phenomenal success of the
Linux World Expo and the constant attention lavished on Linux by
the media and industry, EFE, an independent French group
specializing in management training, is organizing the first
business-to-business Congress titled “Linux & Open Source Code
Congress & Trade Fair” on 29 and 30 June in Zaventem. Over the
past few months, there has been much speculation about the
commercial and practical possibilities of the Linux freeware
operating system. But what is it all about? During a two-day
congress, the IT industry of the Benelux countries will take a
neutral approach to analyzing the commercial movements behind Linux
and the technical and strategic implications of it.
During the presentation and more informally during the trade
fair, participants can get to know the practical applications of
Linux. Particular attention will be given to specialized
applications such as supercomputing (clustering), firewalls,
wireless networking, security, data warehousing and desktop
computing.
The commercial and strategic decisions made by big players such
as IBM, HP, Computer Associates, Oracle, and SCO with regards to
Linux and Open Source will also be addressed. Frederic De Meyer,
ICT Division Director of EFE and the inspiration for the Linux
Congress, says: “These announcements give a clear indication that
Linux is ready for operation within the corporate world. Perhaps
not as a replacement of ‘classic’ operating systems such as Unix
and Windows NT, but rather in very specific critical applications
such as data warehousing, networking or R&D.” These visions of
the future will confront each other in a panel debate in which big
names such as Microsoft, Informix, IBM, HP and SCO hold their own
against each other.
The organizers of the ‘Linux and Open Source Code Congress &
Trade Fair’ are counting on a great deal of interest from suppliers
and users. “Neither IT developers nor corporate users can still
afford to ignore the existence of Linux,” according to Frederic De
Meyer. “The very fact that Linus Thorvalds, the father of Linux,
was recently named one of the 15 most influential IT figures in
history by PC Week, alongside Bill Gates, Jim Clarc and Larry
Elison, is a clear indication of that.”
For further information:
About the Congress: About Linux and other technical issues:
Frederic De Meyer EFE Belgium +32 2 533 10 19 fdemeyer@efe.be http://linuxcongres.ba.be