Open Source Business Alliance

The Open Source Business Alliance - Bundesverband für digitale Souveränität e.V. (OSBA) is a German non-profit that operates Europe's biggest network of companies and organizations developing, building and using open source software.[1]

OSBA focusses on German OSS topics and is organized within APELL[2] to work on European level.

History

The alliance was founded in July 2011 in Stuttgart. The two founding associations, Linux Solutions Group e.V. (Lisog) and the LIVE Linux-Verband e.V., officially merged their groups at their annual general meetings on the 20th and 21 July 2011.[3][4]

The merger aimed to create a unified lobby group for the German open-source movement.[5]

Working groups and projects

The OSB Alliance supports working groups that cover a wide range of issues. As of February 2021 the following working groups were in operation:[11]

WG Cloud

WG Continuous License Compliance

would like to make companies that rely on the "innovation model - open source software" less vulnerable and thus more competitive. The group wants to contribute to efficiently taking into account the aspect of license compliance in medium-sized companies. The “Continuous License Compliance” working group aims to bring routine and continuity to the handling of open source licenses and to promote the automation of open source compliance in cooperation with the community. In addition, the exchange of experiences and best practices should be encouraged and promoted.

WG Education

works on the modern use of digital and interactive teaching and learning material in schools and digital education platforms based on open technologies and standards. In November 2013, the group presented a 30-page document entitled “Digital media, educational platforms and IT infrastructure in schools based on open systems and standards”.[12][13] The goal is to create an open “education cloud” that is centrally provided but configured locally.

WG Events

decides which events the association attends and arranges its participation. Since 2012, the Working Group Events has organised the OSB Alliance’s Open Source Day,[14] held every autumn. Another of its main focuses is coordinating the appearance of the OSB Alliance at CeBIT,[15] as well as at other events with relevant topics, such as the OPEN-IT SUMMIT [16][17][18] or OPEN!2015.

WG Procurement

WG Public Affairs

formulates the positions of the OSB Alliance related to politics and public administration.[19][20][21] The group maintains direct and regular contact with politicians, acts as a point of contact for all questions from the public sector and cooperates in European fora. In November 2013, the working group published a brochure on PRISM and its consequences, with tips for countermeasures.[22][23] Most recently on 21 October 2014, the group held an open IT conference with councillors of the Green Party.[24][25]

WG Security

Companies and personal members who have special expertise in the field of security have come together in the OSB Alliance to form the Security Working Group. In this way, the exchange of experience among the members can be promoted and analyses and statements on security topics can be developed for the interested public.

founded	2011
location	Berlin (Germany)
focus	Establish open source as the standard in public procurement and in research and business development. Support of digital sovereignty for citizens, companies and administration
website	http://www.osb-alliance.de/

Open Source Business Alliance

History

Goals

General goals

Board

Working groups and projects

Sovereign Cloud Stack (SCS)

Lisog open source stack

Open Source Integration Initiative (OSII)

External links

References