Open Solutions Alliance creating European office

The Open Solutions Alliance (OSA) is adding a chapter based in Europe, the group is expected to announce Tuesday.
OSA, a nonprofit vendor alliance formed in early 2007, advocates for the use of open-source software and works on interoperability issues.

The group hopes that the European chapter will be followed by the additions of other regions, such as Asia and Latin America, according to OSA. The chapters are meant to cater to varying regulatory environments and cultural differences globally, the organization said.

Meanwhile, open-source software has gained major momentum in Europe, according to OSA. Citing figures from the research firm Pierre Audoin Conseil, OSA said the market in France alone for open-source software was €730 million (US$1.07 billion) in 2007, up 66 percent over 2006.

OSA Member companies in Europe include hosted ERP (enterprise resource planning) vendor Openbravo, project-management company Onepoint and data-integration firm Talend.

Despite plans to create specialized chapters, OSA's overarching goal will remain the same. "We will all work together on interoperability projects -- interoperability is global," said Yves de Montcheuil, vice president of marketing at Talend.