Becoming a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project Working Together to Help Projects Grow

Becoming a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project Working Together to Help Projects Grow

Companies such as Google, IBM, Intel, the New York Stock Exchange, Qualcomm, HP, Samsung and others have relied upon The Linux Foundation to host their collaborative software projects and provide the organizational, promotional and technical infrastructure needed to make their hosted projects successful. LEVERAGE THE ORGANIZATION THAT SUPPORTS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL IN THE WORLD Picking the right home for your project is one of the most important decisions that you can make, and partnering with The Linux Foundation can ensure your project will have success. Hosting your project with The Linux Foundation provides the financial, operational, promotional, technical and managerial support and services needed so that your staff can focus on your project s technical development. With ten years of experience managing open source projects and support services, The Linux Foundation can provide the back-office, technical infrastructure and legal framework to get your collaborative project off the ground quickly and efficiently. Most importantly, The Linux Foundation can share its expertise, networks and promotional reach with your new hosted collaborative project, but within a clear framework that ensures your independence. Forging your own foundation can be costly and can take too long to gain the competitive advantage needed in today s software markets. By hosting your project with The Linux Foundation, you can get your project off the ground in a short amount of time with a repeatable and understandable business model. You also gain affinity with The Linux Foundation and get assistance from Linux Foundation executives and staff on project formation, governance, positioning and launch services. 1

The Linux Foundation looks well on its way to establishing itself as the honest broker for managing largescale collaborative software projects. - ComputerWorld CURRENT S By collaborating together and tapping into the open source community, companies reduce costs and produce superior software more quickly. The Linux Foundation provides the infrastructure so these projects can thrive. These are just some of our Collaborative Projects. A nonprofit consortium enabling and driving the widespread adoption of products, systems and services that support the Internet of Everything. An organization comprised of industry leaders in virtualization, data center, and cloud solutions,ncreasing awareness and adoption of KVM. An open platform for network programmability to enable SDN and create a solid foundation for NFV for networks at any size and scale. A community that develops the Xen Project Hypervisor and its associated subprojects. Code Aurora Forum is a consortium of companies with projects serving the mobile wireless industry. OpenBEL the open source version of the Biological Expression Language. An open operating system built to address the needs of the mobile and connected device ecosystem. A project providing tools to help you create custom Linux-based systems for embedded products. 12

We are passionate about sharing our best practices with projects and industries who are newly taking advantage of open development to solve innovation challenges. ADVANTAGES OF BECOMING A LINUX FOUNDATION The Linux Foundation is in the unique position to provide a neutral framework for collaborative projects. Why? Our experience helping Linux achieve its position as the most successful collaborative software project in history means collaborative software development is in our DNA. Advantages of hosting your project with us include: Get your project up and running quickly under our 501c.6 non-profit umbrella, or leverage our experience in securing your own non-profit status Retain governance, revenue and messaging independence Reduce, contain and be able to accurately forecast administrative costs Utilize our neutral organization for holding trademarks and running compliance programs Benefit from affinity with The Linux Foundation brand Offer employees world-class health and retirement benefits immediately Offer sponsors a high degree of financial transparency and reporting from an organization with an impeccable financial track record The Linux Foundation has decades of cumulative staff experience in corporate open source to help align goals with your collaborative project. WHAT TYPE OF SERVICES DO YOU OFFER? Launch Services General Ledger Headquarters Services Human Resoures Web and Technology Management Trademark Management Collaborative Support Steering Group Management Press and Marketing Event and Conference Management 2

With over 150 corporate members, The Linux Foundation is able to advocate our collaborative projects to companies and communities around the world. LAUNCH SERVICES Whether your codebase is 10 years old or brand new, The Linux Foundation has already helped organizations like yours successfully transition to open source with open governance. Develop a business plan for the critical first year of the organization Work with your organization s leadership to help clarify your mission, value proposition and key messages Build governance, organizational, membership and dues structures Work with top legal counsel to develop state-of-the-art governance documents, including bylaws, license policies, an intellectual property rights policy, rules and procedures and a membership agreement Set up key financial systems and controls Partner to recruit pre-launch members Establish community communication channels Coordinate US and worldwide trademark registration Drive public relations and marketing activities to get your new organization airborne Establish a source code strategy for open sourcing proprietary code, including which components will be open and when Identify a suitable open source license for source code Provide a customized launch readiness audit process Align best-in-class technical infrastructure with project goals Perform regular check-in meetings with key stakeholders CAN YOU HELP WITH CODE CONTRIBUTION? The Linux Foundation is able to provide guidance based upon direct experience with code provenance questions and contribution guidelines. 3

The Linux Foundation employs staff with expertise in all areas of financial management and provides timely and accurate financial reporting for our collaborative projects and their boards. GENERAL LEDGER With over $30M in annually managed capital, The Linux Foundation brings financial management of open source projects to an entirely new level. Services we provide include: Manage banking relationships and reconciliation Manage Accounts Receivable including bird-dogging late pay and no pay members Manage Accounts Payable according to vendor contracts Budget management, tracking, and forecasting Contract management Vendor relationship management Manage currency conversion and multi-currency transactions if appropriate Provide reports on income, vendor payments, and account balance Oversee third-party firms work on tax preparation, audits and VAT recovery WHAT ABOUT RECORD KEEPING AND AUDITS? The Linux Foundation operates a highly transparent financial reporting organization with over 10 years of audited financials. 4

The Linux Foundation administrative staff provides logistical support for all of our collaborative projects, including day-to-day management. HEADQUARTERS SERVICES The Linux Foundation is located in the heart of the US technology industry, with close proximity to Silicon Valley. Maintain an office and physical address at The Linux Foundation, located in San Francisco Provide a mailing address; receiving and distributing printed mail Manage domain registration and renewals Route email to appropriate staff and project members Route calls to volunteers or staff throughout the world Maintain electronic and hardcopy files and inventory of key documents Provide Visitor Visa invitation letters to foreign nationals for events DO WE HAVE ACCESS TO CONFERENCE CALL LINES? The Linux Foundation provides our collaborative project partners access to conference call lines that can be used for meetings between staff and team members throughout the world. 5

The Linux Foundation knows that talent is the most important ingredient for success, and we provide worldclass HR benefits for our collaborative project team members so that they can focus on development. HUMAN RESOURCES With full time employees in 5 countries on 4 continents, The Linux Foundation understands the challenges of global recruitment, compliance and compensation. Provide recruiting services, including job descriptions, screening and interviewing candidates and onboarding new hosted employees Manage new employee training to ensure maximum alignment between member companies and collaborative project program Provide complete HR services for hosted employees, including payroll, performance management and employee development and training Manage payroll processing, including input, audit, and transmission Manage payroll reporting, including GL interface, report generation, benefit accrual, vacation and sick time accrual tracking Prepare tax deposits and filings for employees Provide a complete benefits package including health insurance, vision and dental plans, flexible spending benefits plan, 401K plan, short and long-term disability insurance, and life insurance Administer employee changes, including salary adjustments, promotions, title changes, FLSA clarification, leaves of absence, etc. Ensure compliance with U.S. and multinational employment laws DO YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH TELECOMMUTING? Like the Linux and open source communities, The Linux Foundation has team members located around the world and can provide collaborative project staff and volunteers with the support they need. 6

Projects and foundations that are hosted with The Linux Foundation are part of the greater network of Linux Foundation activities and have access to our infrastructure expertise. WEB & TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT Tap into the shared expertise of the organization that manages kernel.org, the home of the largest and most successful collaborative software development project in history. The Linux Foundation provides infrastructure services for kernel.org and over 50 other projects. Provide standard web hosting services on managed infrastructure, with additional management and customization options available Perform contract execution with solutions providers Provide web traffic data reports Manage online event registration systems WHAT ABOUT COLLABORATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE? The Linux Foundation has a team of technical experts who maintain kernel.org and many other projects technical underpinnings. We offer cutting edge technology to give our projects a complete architecture of participation. 7

The Linux Foundation has ten years of experience handling risk management and compliance issues for technology non-profits. TRADEMARK MANAGEMENT The Linux Foundation actively manages over 20 trademarks, with registrations in the U.S. and 163 other jurisdictions around the world. Coordinate the application for trademark registrations in selected jurisdictions or worldwide Coordinate trademark office action responses Recommend trademark policy and guidelines Recommend managed exceptions to trademark policy Administer trademark usage requests and approvals Coordinate trademark challenges in jurisdictions worldwide IS LEGAL SUPPORT PROVIDED? While The Linux Foundation is not a law firm and does not offer legal advice, we have leading minds in open source legal and compliance matters on staff, and can help shape or guide Collaborative Projects in these areas. 8

The Linux Foundation is in the unique position to provide a neutral framework for our collaborative projects, providing an unmatched environment for problem solving, future planning and collaboration. COLLABORATIVE SUPPORT Innovation loves company. The Linux Foundation brings executive decision makers together with the best and brightest open source talent in the world, including kernel maintainers, project leads, architects, and highly skilled engineers. Provide private meeting and conference session space at The Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit Increase influence and offer discounted sponsorship opportunities for LinuxCon (North America, Europe, Japan), CloudOpen (North America, Europe, Japan), ApacheCon, CloudStack, ARE WE ABLE TO HOST A TRACK AT THE COLLABORATION SUMMIT? The Linux Foundation is in the unique position to provide a neutral environment at all of our conferences. 9

The Linux Foundation understands open source, and we are ready to help our collaborative project partners understand the value of the open source model. STEERING GROUP MANAGEMENT The Linux Foundation has years of experience customizing project governance models to fit the needs of the project. Direct relationships with senior decision makers and open source influencers at over 190 member companies can help your project recruit new members and diversify your board. Manage member interactions in compliance with industry best practices Answer membership inquiries Provide information to members and prospects Process membership applications and renewals Provide member onboarding kits Manage membership renewal processing Provide monthly membership status WHERE DO COMMITTEE MEMBERS MEET? Collaborative Project partners get access to meeting rooms at our member events and conferences for in-person meetings with members. Additional program and member management services can be made available to your project. 10

The Linux Foundation reaches tens of thousands of people every year with events, millions every month with its web properties, including Linux.com, and thousands every month with its research and commentary on open source issues. PRESS AND MARKETING Member companies and collaborative projects have grown to depend upon The Linux Foundation to provide comprehensive press and marketing support. With in-house PR professionals, The Linux Foundation is able to offer these optional services: Drive news cycles within both business and trade publications Press releases Direct outreach Social media HOW MANY SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS DO YOU HAVE? The Linux Foundation has over half a million followers across social media channels, and we use them to help promote our collaborative projects through innovative outreach programs and marketing initiatives like blog posts, contests, infographics and videos. 11

Linux Foundation events help foster innovation, encourage forwardthinking and will help increase visibility for collaborative projects and initiatives. EVENT AND CONFERENCE MANAGEMENT 25 annual branded events worldwide. 45 managed workshops, hackfests, developer days, and co-located events. Over 10,000 attendees last year. The ability to plan and deliver technical, legal, business, and executive level events. From invitation-only events to global shows with thousands of attendees, The Linux Foundation is uniquely equipped to service your events and conference needs with the quality and efficiency that industry leaders have grown to expect and depend upon. Event logistics and execution support for a consistent brand experience, from board or member meetings to international conferences for thousands of attendees Optional events support available ARE YOU ABLE TO HELP US MANAGE OUR CALL FOR PROPOSALS? The Linux foundation has extensive experience with managing speaking proposals. Our proposal submission system makes session reviews and management easy for our collaborative project partners. 12

To learn more about The Linux Foundation Collaborative Projects Program please contact: Mike Woster The Linux Foundation +1 847 636 1784 mwoster@linuxfoundation.org