Adopt, adapt, create…three short words to sum up open source in 2012. Think Tank 2012 was again a great event; perspectives on OSS have certainly changed and the audience’s background clearly showed that. In this year’s Think Tank, there were fewer lawyers than in previous sessions I’ve attended. The focus wasn’t on using/not using GPL, but rather on using permissive licenses, along the lines of Apache, and really not stressing over what license to use. As one speaker said “license type? don’t worry about it…don’t spend all of your valuable time pondering on what type to use…it’ll be OK…”

It is clear that OSS is here to stay; the two case studies that were presented clearly showed that: GENIVI from the automotive industry and VistA from the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs. Recommendations on how to raise awareness and encourage participation in these projects included adding venture capitalists and private sector participants to build on the commercial aspects of OSS, without losing sight of the altruistic nature inherent in OSS.

Two very different industries with very different focus and yet the same end goal: finding “…models where a diverse group of participants can collaborate, share innovations, build businesses, and advance the state of technology to the benefit of all participants…” (Michael ONeill).

And while I had many takeaways from this insightful event, the one thing that will definitely permeate my mindset in everything I do is “adopt, adapt, create&8230;”

-by Nora Calvillo
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