Open source software has arrived in the company”
The combination of license-free software with professional services is an attractive alternative to the previous license models. The professionalised environment of the open source providers has therefore long stopped being the work of individual geniuses, but is the result of much networking and co-operation. For Rapid-I, promoting this networking and demonstrating the success of open source are central motivations for sponsoring this event.
Dr. Ingo Mierswa, CEO of Rapid-I, sees the connection between golf and open source quite pragmatically besides: “A fascinating aspect of golf is its absolute fairness. The handicap system even ensures a beginner to the game a real chance of winning against a world-class player such as Tiger Woods. And this very fairness is also the fascinating thing about open source solutions: Instead of license costs there is really a genuine service for each euro paid with open source.”
Several open source providers and service providers are supporting the event. Apart from the organiser Ingres and Rapid-I, these are Ancud IT, Alfresco, Magirus and Bacula System. In Golfpark Idstein, a challenging golf experience on an 18-hole-course is being offered to the participants from IT, finance and legal departments. Numerous competitions await the participants, including a hole-in-one contest. In addition, golf professionals will support the contestants with tips and tricks and there will be golf training for beginners in an extra area. So that the players can keep going on the over six kilometre-long course and so that there is also time for business discussion, sparkling wine and small bites will be handed out in between. And finally, the players are called to take part in a silent auction. All proceeds will go to the Rudolf-Walther foundation “Children’s Future”.
Dr. Mierswa is already looking forward to the event: “Rapid-I is the leading worldwide provider for open source data mining solutions today, and so it naturally concerns itself with predictions for the most probable future based on mathematical models. But even without mathematics I am happy to make the following three predictions for the Open Source Masters: “New contacts, new co-operations, great golf”.
Rapid-I is an innovative provider of software, solutions and services in the area of predictive analytics, data mining and text mining. Rapid-I offers its customers automatable intelligent analyses, even of large amounts of text and data, and classification and prediction systems derived from these. Open Source Data Mining specialist Rapid-I thus makes it possible for other companies to use state-of-the-art technologies for intelligent data analysis, for the discovery of thus far unused company knowledge from existing data stocks and for the optimisation of processes and business procedures.