Calling all open-source product development companies

Browne and Mohan, a global consulting firm is attempting a maiden research study on Open Source Product Development companies from India. So if you are aware of a company that develops some open source product (or offering open-source based productized offerings like SaaS) please get in touch with Browne and Mohan (ganapathy@browneandmohan.com or trmadanmohan@gmail.com). Please note, the report will be free to share and remix for all future studies and references. Also, this study is not supported by any vendors and all the costs are completely borne by Browne & Mohan only.

Sounds like a useful study, and the fact that the results will be made freely available (as in beer and as in speech) makes it a good effort to support. Also, a strong participation from Pune-based companies will benefit Pune’s visibility. So please participate, encourage others to participate, and forward this to your friends.

Additionally, we at PuneTech would love to feature such interesting companies and technologies on PuneTech - so get in touch with us too.

Here are more details of the Browne and Mohan study from TR Madan Mohan:

Open source products are a reflection of maturity of entrepreneurship and innovation in an economy. Understanding the status of open source product companies, their offerings, the challenges they are facing and how they are responding to the larger economic turmoil is important. Moreover, it is unfortunate the attention of media, researchers and analysts covering India is predominantly focussed on software services only. Little is known or published about the Open source products from India. Towards filling up this gap, Browne & Mohan, a global consulting firm is attempting a maiden research study on Open Source Product Development companies from India. The objective of the study is to highlight their product, the strategies adopted, growth options for these companies in international markets etc. Based on the extensive study, a report shall be released through a Creative Commons License. Hence, the report shall be free to share and remix for all future studies and references. Pl. note this study is not supported by any vendors and all the costs are completely borne by Browne & Mohan only. We expect the report and subsequent coverage benefit the Open Source Product Companies directly and the larger cause of innovation from India indirectly. A copy of the report shall also be sent to Punetech members.

We request Punetech members support and encouragement for this endeavor. ny company that has an open source product (those offering productised services such as SaaS) are the targeted audiences. Pl. forward the details of the companies you are aware of, including the email id’s of key contacts and help us speard the reach. Thank you for your support. Pl. forward the information to ganapathy@browneandmohan.com or mail to trmadanmohan@gmail.com

Thanking you in advance:

TR Madan Mohan

About Browne & Mohan

Browne & Mohan is a management consulting firm that employs integrated approaches to solve client issues. Browne existed as an independent consulting company till February 2008 registered in Toronto and keeping in with the growth of new partners it was rechristened as Browne & Mohan in March 2008. With offices in India, Dubai, USA, Canada and Singapore, we bring together multi-cultural expertise and best practices across countries, industries and verticals. With backgrounds in management, finance, KPO, legal, medicine, our consultants work in an environment which nurtures creative analysis and integrated approach to issues. Browne & Mohan team consists of thought leaders, industry experts and experiences professionals drawn from different industries. We pride in attracting entrepreneurial professionals who not only can “think out of a box”, but “walk the talk” driving the implementation. Indian arm of Browne & Mohan consists of former academic who had taught at prestigious Indian Institute of Management, consulting professionals, investment banking professionals, and heads of analytical research of large multinational companies. for more details see, http://www.browneandmohan.com.

Pune GNU/Linux Users Group meeting - Nov 8

What: Pune Linux Users Group (PLUG) monthly meeting

When: Saturday, 8th November. 4pm to 6pm.

Where: Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and Research (SICSR), 7th floor, Atur Center, Model Colony, Pune, India (Map)

Registration and Fees: The event is free for all. No registration required.

Details

The PLUG meeting is open to all, there are no charges or pre-requisites to attend the meeting. If you are intrested in FOSS (Free/Open Source Software) you are welcome to the meeting. If you want to give a talk or a demo, you are welcome.

This meeting happens on the first Saturday of every month, at the same place and time (but was delayed by a week this month because of Diwali). Usually, a PuneJava talk organized by IndicThreads also happens immediately after the PLUG meeting, but is not happening probably because of the big upcoming Java conference around the end of November organized by the same people.

As usual, keep checking the PuneTech calendar for interesting tech events in Pune.

Code Camp - A hackfest organized by PLUG

What: A two-day hackathon, with (possibly) a focus on developing open-source and/or linux software
When: From 22 November 9am to 23 November 10am (overnight!)
Venue: Bhaskaracharya Prathishthan
Registration and Fees: This event is free and open to all. No registration required

Details

Code Camp is a 24-hour hackfest organized by the Pune Linux Users Group (PLUG). The idea is for a bunch of developers to get together and develop code, talk about code, answer each others’ coding questions on specific coding projects.

Code Camp is a new type of community event where developers learn from fellow developers. All are welcome to attend and speak. Code Camps have been wildly successful, and this one is  going to bring that success to Pune.

The Code Camp Manifesto consists of six points:

  • by and for the developer community
  • always free
  • community developed material
  • no fluff – only code
  • community ownership
  • never occur during working hours
Here are more details about Code Camp Pune in the words of one of the organizers:
Over the past 2 weeks a few of us have been working in the background to get things moving for the code camp. Initially we had decided to restrict the number of problem statements to 2. However we felt that by doing so we might end up keeping away quite a few potential participants. Hence we have decided to allow any number of problem statements to be tackled, as long as it is a serious effort.

There also seems to be a misconception that this is some sort of an ‘event’ that is being ‘managed’ by ‘PLUG’. Quite like the misconception the the ‘Government’ is responsible for running the ‘country’. This is not going to be an event where a few people will swoop down from different places and give you some gyan. This is an event where you, in your individual capacity, have to make things happen. This event is for you to get together with a few like-minded and come up with something constructive. The ‘organisers’ will just provide a few facilities and try their best to keep things from getting in the way of your main task. Things like creating a wiki to enable you to discuss. The wiki is at http://www.plug.org.in/wiki. You can follow the ‘Code camp’ link and see whether you find anything interesting. If you don’t find anything interesting, but have something interesting to propose to others, and have the drive to take it to the end, then you can add it to the wiki.

So, here are a few facts:

  • The Venue is confirmed: Bhaskaracharya Prathishthan
  • Dates: 22nd November 0900 hrs to 23rd November 1000 hrs.
  • Provision for overnight stay for at least 12 people has been confirmed (if you wish to hack away through the night)

Also, its improbable that you think of something a couple of days prior to the event and successfully finish it on the day. Generally a lot of groundwork is needed to even freeze on a good problem definition. I would suggest that anyone who is interested should start now. Start discussing on the wiki, start exploring, and start coding now. The idea is that on 23rd November we have something substantial, usable and useful to show. i wonder whether the ‘community’ is capable of doing that.

Basic course on Linux by PLUG - Oct 6

What: A basic course on Linux conducted by Pune Linux Users Group (PLUG)

When: Monday, 6th October. 4pm to 6pm. 

Where: Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and Research (SICSR), 7th floor, Atur Center, Model Colony, Pune, India (Map)

Registration and Fees: The event is free for all. No registration required.

Details
This is a very basic GNU/Linux course. The aim is to provide some hands on experience to the user so as to make him aware of all the different features and flavors of a GNU/Linux OS. At the end of the course, a user should be able to connect to and browse the internet, send receive mails, create rich text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, administer personal system etc. all using a GNU/Linux system and various free software available on the net.

Check out the detailed syllabus for this course.

Pune Linux Users Group Meeting - Oct 4

What: Pune Linux Users Group (PLUG) monthly meeting

When: Saturday, 4th October. 4pm to 6pm. 

Where: Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and Research (SICSR), 7th floor, Atur Center, Model Colony, Pune, India (Map)

Registration and Fees: The event is free for all. No registration required.

Details
The PLUG meeting is open to all, there are no charges or pre-requisites to attend the meeting. If you are intrested in FOSS (Free/Open Source Software) you are welcome to the meeting. If you want to give a talk or a demo, you are welcome.

This meeting happens on the first Saturday of every month, at the same place and time. Usually, a PuneJava talk organized by IndicThreads also happens immediately after the PLUG meeting, but apparently not happening this month. 

Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management (SITM) is organizing a two day seminar on Telecom Management at their beautiful campus at Lavale village. Details of this meeting, and all other interesting tech events in Pune can be found at the PuneTech calendar.

Software Freedom Day - Sept 21

What: Software Freedom Day - Celebrating GNU/Linux, PHP, etc.
When: Sunday September 21, 2008 from 11:00am - 3:00pm

56/14, Damle Path, off Law College Road, Erandavane, Pune, 411 004.
Pune, Maharashtra

Program :
1) Installation Demo: Fedora, Ubuntu, Open SuSE, Mandriva.
2) Install Fest: Bring your machine, we will install GNU/Linux on it.
3) Small Demo: Hands on Demo for c,php programming.

PS: Please give us your suggestions.
We want more Programs like talks, workshops.
So please come forward as speaker.
Also we want volunteers, who will help for this event.

For more information about - Software Freedom Day
http://softwarefreedomday.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_Freedom_Day

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Film restoration technology developed in Pune

The Indian Express has an article about film restoration studio, Cameo, with technology developed entirely indegeneously:

Gujar, a graduate in engineering from VIT College came up with concept of developing an affordable film restoration software and studio when he was in college. “The requirement of film restoration was found out when we were studying imaging. We talked to people concerned, who endorsed the grave problem the industry was facing already. We went ahead built a few prototypes of what we thought could be done for the problem, and demonstrated it to various people in the film industry. And then we got down to the task of building the entire software required to put up a full fledged restoration studio, “elaborates Gujar.”

The technology allows tens or hundreds of computer-servers to work together, along with human assisted computers to remove damages from films. “It took us more than a year for the research and close to a year to build the technology. Pune, being a primary IT hub allowed us to find most of the required talent locally. We had IIT graduates and experts from imaging, computer vision, Linux and computer software coming together to make this first generation of the technology.

Read full article.

Groovy Grails Discussion (Linux and Java meet - Sept 6)

GrailsImage via Wikipedia

What: Pune Linux Users Group (PLUG) meeting followed by a discussion on Groovy - Grails with Harshad Oak (part of the Java meet by IndicThreads.)

When: Saturday, 6th September. PLUG meeting 4pm to 6pm. Harshad’s talk from 6pm to 7:30pm

Where: Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and Research (SICSR), 7th floor, Atur Center, Model Colony, Pune, India (Map)

Registration and Fees: The event is free for all. Register here.

Details: PLUG meeting
The PLUG meeting is open to all, there are no charges or pre-requisites to attend the meeting. If you are intrested in FOSS (Free/Open Source Software) you are welcome to the meeting. If you want to give a talk or a demo, you are welcome.

Details: Groovy - Grails Discussion
The Groovy language and the Grails framework have slowly but surely grown in prominence. Grails uses the best ideas from the Ruby on Rails world while still continuing to leverage the tried, tested and trusted Java platform as well as established frameworks like Spring and Hibernate. However there has been hardly any community behind Groovy and Grails in India. The Java meet for this month is an attempt to facilitate discussion amongst Groovy and Grails enthusiasts in Pune & India.

The Groovy - Grails meet will commence with a Grails introduction and demo by Harshad Oak. This will be followed by a discussion about the Groovy & Grails, it’s current state in India and its future prospects.

About the Speaker - Harshad Oak

Harshad is the founder of Rightrix Solutions and editor IndicThreads.com. He is the author of 3 books on Java technology and several articles. For his contributions to technology and the developer community, he has been recognized as an Oracle ACE Director and Sun Java Champion.

To initiate discussion prior to the meet or continue it after the meet, join these groups.

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Pune Java and Pune Linux monthly meet - August

What: Pune Linux Users Group (PLUG) meeting followed by a Talk on “Design Patterns for Web Applications” by Shridhar Deshpande (part of the Java meet by IndicThreads.)

When: Saturday, 2nd August. PLUG meeting 4pm to 6pm. Shridhar’s talk from 6pm to 7:30pm

Where: Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and Research (SICSR), 7th floor, Atur Center, Model Colony, Pune, India (Map)

Registration and Fees: The event is free for all. Register here.

Details: PLUG meeting
The PLUG meeting is open to all, there are no charges or pre-requisites to attend the meeting. If you are intrested in FOSS (Free/Open Source Software) you are welcome to the meeting. If you want to give a talk or a demo, you are welcome. Mandriva 2008.1 spring edition and Fedora 9 DVDs available with the organizers. You can book CD/DVDs and  collect them after the meeting.

Details: Contrasting Java and Dynamic Languages
Shridhar Deshpande would provide insights on some of the most commonly applicable design patterns for web based java applications.It would include introduction to design patterns, what they mean to the developers. how did they come into the picture and their impact on an application. Later some design patterns commonly applicable to web based applications would be discussed and assessed on various factors relating to the application. This session would also include inputs regarding some design patterns which could come into use in the future.

About the Presenter:

Shridhar Deshpande is a consultant at i-Flex Solutions

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Azingo to raise Rs 200 cr for acquisitions in India

LiMo FoundationImage by mtlin via Flickr

Azingo, a mobile platform development company, which provides a full Linux-based mobile stack, as well as services, (and which has a development center in Pune), is planning to raise Rs 200 cr in a Series-B funding from US-based private equity firm Garnett Helfrich Capital and a few other VCs.

Azingo, one of the core members of UK-headquartered LIMO Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to creating an open, hardware-independent, Linux-based operating system for mobile devices, helps the foundation’s 55 members, including nine tier-I operators like Verizon, Orange, SK Telecom and Soft Bank Mobile, to develop, integrate and tests its Mobile Linux software platform.

“Our Mobile Linux operating system is currently in the beta stage and we are in the process of commercialising the technology. The funds will be utilised to build applications for service and delivery to large operators and vendors, besides scaling up our workforce in India through the inorganic growth route,” Azingo’s chief executive officer Mahesh Veerina told Business Standard.

Veerina said they had identified a couple of companies in India and abroad that could bring in engineering talent, mobile application development, intellectual property IP or customer relations. It expected to wrap up the buyout deal in the next six to nine months. Azingo currently has 300 engineers working out of its Hyderabad and Pune centres. It will add close to 700 engineers in the country in the next one year.

Source Azingo to raise Rs 200 cr

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