Australia to stage first major open source event

By Stan Beer
Thursday, 12 May 2005 06:30

Australia’s first major, global open source and Linux expo and conference will be staged in Sydney in March next year.

The LinuxWorld Conference & Expo is being touted as the largest dedicated open source event ever held in Australia and is scheduled for the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre for three days from 28 to 30 March, 2006.

Australian Exhibition Services (AES), which for many years dominated the Australian IT exhibition market with its annual PC Shows, has been licensed to stage LinuxWorld, which is currently staged in 14 countries.
 
AES chairman, Graeme Selby, says the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo in Sydney is perfectly timed to capture the current enthusiasm in the Australian market for Linux as a viable enterprise option.

“The Expo will communicate the extraordinary capabilities, power and advantages that Linux and open source technology can provide to the government and business IT marketplace, “ Selby says.

Selby says forecasts by IDC predict exceptional growth in the open source and Linux marketplace worldwide.  IDC has projected that the total global market for Linux devices and software would jump from US$11 billion in 2004 to US$35.7 billion by 2008. In Australia, there have been predictions of a significant resurgence in IT expenditure of a record $40 billion by business and governments this year.

According to AES, next year’s LinuxWorld Expo in Sydney will showcase the best in open source solutions and incorporate a two-day, comprehensive program with papers from leading industry figures, plenary sessions, hands-on workshops, as well as a world-class expo.

Selby says Australia is an important market for Linux and open source, with technology companies trying to capture the attention and loyalty of influential buyers.