OSA announces European plans

Open Solutions Alliance Europe Announces Interim Board of Directors, Further Details on European
Chapter

Paris, March 27, 2008 - Open Solutions Alliance (OSA) Europe, the European chapter of the non
profit, vendor-neutral consortium dedicated to driving the interoperability and mainstream adoption
of comprehensive open solutions, today announced its interim board of directors (BoD) and further
details for its plan throughout Europe. 

The OSA announced in January 2008 its plans to launch a global, chapter-based structure with the
European chapter as its first chapter outside the United States. OSA Europe will address business
users' requirements for open solutions by federating a European open source business ecosystem,
promoting interoperability and developing synergies between European software vendors. 

"We are very pleased with the response we have had since announcing the European chapter," explains
Jean-Noel de Galzain, CEO Wallix. "There is a universal recognition that European open source
companies have a real opportunity to play an important role in the overall software industry. To do
that we need to promote our business models and work together to provide innovative and
interoperable solutions to end-users."

The European OSA has begun by electing a temporary board to govern its decision-making process as
it establishes its headquarters and plans for an official launch later this year. The temporary
board members include representatives from Ingres Europe, Onepoint, Openbravo, Talend and Wallix. 

For the recruitment of new members to the Alliance, each EOSA board member has been allocated a
geographical region:
-          Josep Mitja, CEO Openbravo - Southern Europe, including Italy, Spain and Portugal
-          Serge Goldstein, EMEA sales manager of Ingres Europe - France, Benelux, Switzerland and
Maghreb countries
-          François Mero, European Sales Director, Talend - UK and the Nordic countries
-          Gerald Mesaric, CEO Onepoint - Central Europe including Germany and Austria
-          Jean-Noel de Galzain, CEO Wallix - General and legal enquiries.

In the next few weeks, the board will decide in which European country to incorporate. At this time
the competitive clusters System@tic in the Paris region of France and CENATIC in Badajoz, Spain are
short listed to welcome the European organisation. Factors being considered in its choice are the
attractiveness of the region and its performance in terms of innovation and dynamism.

Six initial priorities have been defined by the Alliance for immediate implementation. These are:
o Promotion and defence of interoperability as the unique standard;
o Marketing, branding and European Business development for EOSA members;
o Ecosystem development through software vendor, integrator & ISV recruitment;
o Development of relationships with the Open Source Community;
o Maintenance of relationships with other OSA chapters and global organization; 
and
o Promotion and defence of Open Source Solutions in Europe.


About the Open Solutions Alliance: 

The Open Solutions Alliance (OSA) is a non profit, vendor-neutral consortium dedicated to driving
the interoperability and mainstream adoption of comprehensive open solutions. Founded in 2007, it
is supported by leading companies from around the world who are dedicated to improving
interoperability among software products, resulting in integrated and rapidly deployable solutions
for business users. Through cooperative action and advocacy, the OSA helps facilitate
interoperability, reduce barriers to adoption and raise the awareness of open solutions in
business. For more information, please visit www.OpenSolutionsAlliance.org. 

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Media Contact: 
Martha de Monclin
Page One PR for OSA 
France : +33 (0)6 63 44 33 74
UK : +44 (0)777 168 2434
martha@pageonepr.com