Open source is a fantastic development methodology, but open source is not a panacea. Just as closed source does some things well and some things poorly, so, too, does open source. This presentation details the history of open source and probes the question of why it exists at all. What was the industry lacking that inspired the creation of open source? Following this thread, the presentation delves into the areas where such "industry voids" will persist, pointing to opportunities for open source-friendly vendors. Finally, the keynote details areas where closed source will continue to be critical, and how top vendors will recognize open and closed source software as either complements or substitutes to existing products, and deliver accordingly.

[Full title: "Selling Choice: Combining Open and Closed Source to Maximize Customer Value." This keynote presentation was recorded at the Open Source Business Conference 2004 held in San Francisco, CA. An OpenOffice.org file (.sxi) of this presentation's graphics is available. See the complete list of OSBC 2004 presentations on IT Conversations.]

Chris Stone was appointed Vice Chairman, Office of the CEO, of Novell in March, 2002, marking his return to the company after departing in late 1999 to start Tilion, a web services startup. At Novell, Stone has responsibility for all engineering, support, marketing, product management, alliances, global sales and consulting. Stone will be instrumental in driving Novell's one Net vision forward, and is focused on reasserting Novell's technology leadership moving into an Open Source and Web services environment. Stone is a noted technology visionary, with more than twenty years of experience leading high technology industry innovation.

Prior to Tilion, Stone spent more than two years as executive vice president of corporate strategy and development at Novell. Stone played a key role in the turnaround and resurgence of Novell during 1997-99. Previously, he was the founder of the Object Management Group (OMG), the largest software development standardization group of its kind. While the CEO of OMG, he created CORBA and numerous other distributed computing and object technology standards. He also drove the group's vision, its technology teams, and the formation of innovative conferences, publications, and partnerships. Stone began his technology career at Data General Corporation, where he spent ten years in various positions leading up to his role as the director of software products. Stone is on the advisory board of Wasatch Ventures in Utah as well as other software and consortium based organizations.

Stone has a degree in Computer Science from the University of New Hampshire and attended the Executive MBA program at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. He has been named a "Top Ten Entrepreneur" by Red Herring for 2001.