2025-03-10 – 13:00-13:30 (Africa/Abidjan), Auditorium
When software dies or your company gets acquired, giving up isn’t an option – at least not for Open Source enthusiasts. This talk tells the story of an Open Source team that took its future into its own hands. It highlights where theory collides with practice and why developers sometimes need to seize the reins themselves.
When proprietary products are discontinued or swallowed up by competitors, your (decision-making) freedom quickly takes a hit. A discontinued product forces migration, incurs high costs, and pushes you into making unwelcome decisions.
Sustainable open-source software, on the other hand, offers a different scenario: it gives you the freedom to further develop the code yourself or with new partners, and to build new support structures. The freedom not to migrate – and the freedom not to work with an unsuitable service provider. Even when there are drastic changes in product or business strategy, you can simply roll up your sleeves and carry on.
So far, so good – at least in theory. But does it actually work in practice?
This talk shares a very recent story: about software that simply wasn’t allowed to die, and a team determined to keep going. It also highlights where theory meets reality – and how to tackle the headwinds you’ll face when you decide to just go for it.
Because one thing is certain: A community has to do what a community has to do.
For over 30 years, Peer Heinlein has been an expert in secure electronic communication. With a team of 100 members, he educates system administrators at the Berlin Linux Academy and provides reliable email communication for authorities and businesses through mailbox.org, which has been award-winning several times.
His latest venture is OpenTalk: An innovative, scalable, and secure video conferencing solution for Europe, designed as a modern replacement for Jitsi or Big Blue Button and a secure alternative to Zoom, Teams, or Webex. Naturally, it's open source.
And he still has some more ideas in mind... ;-)