Open Sources | Rodrigues & Urlocker » World Economic Forum selects Alfresco as a global technology leader

December 06, 2006 | Comments: (0)

World Economic Forum selects Alfresco as a global technology leader

TAGS: Open Source

Yes, it's a self-congratulatory pat on the back (I work for Alfresco, but I can't resist on this one. And I'm not sure I should, given that the reason Alfresco won this award was due to its open source nature (coupled with exceptional programming). So, this award was more a victory for open source than for any one company. More on that below.

As reported by InformationWeek, the World Economic Forum on Monday yesterday announced 47 venture capital and technology leaders involved in developing technology that has potential for long-term impact on business and society.

Alfresco Software, maker of an open-source enterprise content management system, also made the list. The company's software controls and accesses Web pages, images, and documents through an entire enterprise. Alfresco co-founder and CTO John Newton said the company's software provides the cost advantages of open source, which can help poorly funded or small organizations in developing countries.

"We hope to use the opportunities created by this award to gain greater visibility to how information can help solve some of the world's most pressing problems and how sharing and retaining knowledge can level the playing field for companies outside of the developed world," Newton said in a statement.

I have to admit that the only global hunger I've been solving lately is my own, though the promise of open source is that anyone can take and use the software to pursue their own ends, irrespective of what Alfresco may intend for the code. That's the genius and the beauty of open source, and it's something you simply cannot get with proprietary software, no matter how cheap you make it.

Posted by Matt Asay on December 6, 2006 11:03 PM

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