OpenTechnologyConference Mar2007

=Open Technology Development - Realizing the Vision= Working title. We are currently working with the AFEI to organize a two day conference in Washington DC, 14, 15 March at the Hyatt. The 14th will be focused on the Open Technology Development effort within the federal government. The 15th will focus on open source geospatial capabilities and support for those technologies. The Open Source Geospatial Foundation will guide the planning and agenda for that day.

15 Mar - Open Source Geospatial Software and the Government
The goal this day of the conference is to educate the attending government decision makers and contractors that open source geospatial technologies are mature and supportable. These technologies and open source practices would provide substantial benefits to government programs and projects. The collaborative technology development methodologies employed by open source geospatial projects can be accessed through collaboration with the Open Source Geospatial Foundation.

Potential speakers: Tyler Mitchell Gary Lang Mark Lucas Dave McIlhagga Canadian Government Speaker (DM) Large Data JCTD Al Kelly - Ilabs Jim Long - NGA

Marketing
This is an opportunity to communicate the benefits of OSGeo and Open Technologies to government agencies and contractors. Perhaps the key message is that these technologies are mature and supportable through existing organizations and companies.

Why should you attend?
Learn about the latest trends in bringing open technologies solutions into government systems and acquisitions. A special focus will demonstrate open source geospatial solutions and their supporting organizations and companies. Open source software and open systems have revolutionized how complex architectures are implemented. The collaboration, tools, and technologies used in open source systems provide agile technology paths that are critical in our ever changing environment. This conference will educate the participants on open technology initiatives and open source software solutions that are backed with commercial support.

Who should attend?
Decision makers, systems integrators and technologists from contractors and government that are interested in how to improve government solutions through the use of open architectures and open source software. The conference will focus on the efforts of the Open Technology Development Initiative within the Department of Defense with a special focus on advanced open source geospatial technologies from the Open Source Geospatial Foundation.