OW2 Structure

This page features insights about, first, the activities of OW2, and, second, its governance system.

Activities: Projects, Initiatives and Local Chapters

At OW2, everything starts with a Project. However, we are conscious of the market requirement for easier component integration, and this is why we have introduced Initiatives. In a nutshell, Projects are technology driven whereas Initiatives are market driven.

Projects are technology-driven: they carry OW2's technology innovation.

Initiatives are market-driven: they help mainstream end-users, systems integrators and ISVS integrate OW2 technologies into their business solutions.

Leadership: Fostering Marketable Open Source Middleware

OW2 day-to-day operations are carried out by the Management Office, a permanent team of professional executives hired to implement and execute the strategies decided by the Board of Directors. The team handles matters regarding general affairs, technology management, and ecosystem development.

The Management Office and the Board of Directors are assisted by three Councils: the Ecosystem Development Council, the Technology Council and the Operations Council. The Ecosystem Council is responsible for making sure OW2's activities are aligned with market trends. The Technology Council is responsible for building the overall technical architecture, providing technology validation, and monitoring production and overall project consistency. The Operations Council is responsible for supervising finance and book-keeping, and for providing legal guidance and expertise. Members staff and lead operational councils.

OW2's Quarterly Meetings are important events in the life of the organization. These meetings are open to the community at large and they serve as a regular open forum to share the organization's research and development activities with users and potential new members. Quarterly meetings also include the meeting of the Board of Directors and the Councils' meetings. Quarterly meetings are key to the organization's communication strategy: marketing and communication efforts are timed to leverage events and enhance their visibility.

Members will be able to participate in, and contribute to, ecosystem growth programs such as OW2Juris to help lawyers understand open-source, OW2atWork to grow the use and re-use of OW2 code, OW2Original to build awareness around OW2 Projects, and OW2Academy to grow the population of OW2 code experts.

How To Get In On The Action?

OW2 is open to all kinds of organizations and corporations, large and small, for-profit and not-for-profit, and individual members. The research community (whether academia or industry) is granted a special status within OW2.

The OW2 membership and fee structure makes OW2 open to companies of all sizes, whether they be large diversified companies or start-ups representative of grassroots open source communities.