2008-10-01 20:29:01 -

us.apachecon.com - Prompt Communications on behalf of ApacheCon James Gerber / Hazel Butters 617-576-5763 / +1 617-291-9899 apachecon@prompt-communications.com ApacheCon US, the official user conference of The Apache Software Foundation (ASF), opens their doors to The Apache Open For Business (OFBiz) Symposium bringing together the Open Source community.

OFBiz Symposium was previously a standalone

user group event. OFBiz achieved top-level-project status at The ASF in December 2006 after nearly a year of incubation. For the first time, Apache's OFBiz project will join ApacheCon to unite its community of developers with those of The Apache Software Foundation's other projects. With OFBiz Symposium speakers and attendees traveling from across the globe from locations including India, Thailand, and mainland Europe, the audience at the combined events will be a true exchange of international ideas and opportunities.

On Wednesday, November 5, and Thursday, November 6, there will be separate tracks run by Apache OFBiz open to both OFBiz Symposium and ApacheCon attendees. On November 5, OFBiz Symposium will focus on business topics such as good business practices, how to make good use of open source projects, building a business on top of Apache OFBiz, how to gather requirements and do business in different regions of the world. On November 6, OFBiz Symposium will shift its focus to technology with topics like dynamic web 2.0 user interfaces, business intelligence (BI), testing and deployment.

Presentations and discussions will range from people's personal experiences to in-depth step-by-step trainings. On both days, Birds of a Feather sessions will bring together members in open discussions relating to the day's focus.

David Jones, CTO of HotWax Media and VP of Apache Open For Business, said, "Our philosophy at OFBiz is centered on the creation of a single enterprise web solution that is inherently integrated. This ensures that people don't have a mishmash of various software, redundant data, and all of the resulting problems. We provide flexibility to enterprises through the use of Open Source."

Jones continued, "Both The Apache Software Foundation and OFBiz are pragmatically driven and focused on applications that meet real-world needs. This mutual focus results in a natural overlap and compatibility between OFBiz and The ASF. Joining ApacheCon US will ensure that we are fulfilling our goal of reinforcing and encouraging communication between our community and Apache's. This communication and the common goals we will fulfill together is behind our excitement in joining this year's ApacheCon US."

Registration is currently open for ApacheCon and OFBiz Symposium. To register, please visit the following link: tinyurl.com/3qoebb

To interact with other ApacheCon US '08 members and attendees, please visit its site on CrowdVine: apacheconus2008.crowdvine.com/

Sponsors of OFBiz Symposium and ApacheCon include BMC Software, Cloudera, Day Software, Google, HALO Worldwide, Hewlett-Packard, Hippo, HotWax Media, IONA, SpringSource, ThinkGeek, and Yahoo! These sponsors play an integral role in supporting Open Source technology and contributing to emerging trends in the industry. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. For details contact Delia Frees at delia@apachecon.com.

About ApacheCon US 2008

The most influential platform dialogue amongst the Apache community at large, ApacheCon is the must-attend user and developer forum showcasing key Apache and Open Source technologies. Attendees meet, mingle, and exchange ideas with like-minded participants on groundbreaking technologies and emerging industry trends, through informal networking, peer discussions, Birds-of-a-Feather sessions, and entertaining social events.

Drawing internationally-renowned thought-leaders, contributors, influencers, and organizations in the Open Source community, ApacheCon offers insight into the culture and community that develops and shepherds industry-leading Open Source projects, including Apache HTTP Server--the world's most popular Web server software for ten years running.

To find more information about ApacheCon US 2008 please visit www.us.apachecon.com

OFBiz Symposium co-locating with ApacheCon US 2008