About the award

The Open Source Business Foundation (OSBF) annually awards innovative ideas, thought through concepts and promising business plans with the Open Source Business Award. Today it is the most important award for outstanding business models and concepts based on Open Source Software in Europe. The Award is granted for innovative business ideas based on Open Source Software, which revolutionize the market and can set new standards.

Open Source Software: A Business Necessity for Agility, Flexibility, Open Standards and Reduced Costs

The Open Source Business Foundation (OSBF) will be awarding the European Open Source Business Award (OSBA) with €75,000 total prize money. The following companies and individuals will be recognized for their commitment to open source software:

• three software application companies for their innovative implementation of open source business solutions, including the “Open Source CIO of the Year”.
   
• three software companies for their innovative business ideas. The winner will be awarded the title “Open Source Business of the Year”.

The success of companies is largely dependent on the definition of their business processes as well as the software solutions that they utilize. Lean, flexible company processes mean lower costs and faster reaction times. Only in this way can a company – or in the final analysis the entire economy – carve a place for itself in globally competitive markets and work to improve its position. Software solutions are now at the core of all company processes and play a large role in determining just how successful a company is.
The extent to which companies depend on their software solutions inevitably becomes clear when department heads attempt to adapt processes to business necessities or companies are merged and this turns out to be unexpectedly cost and time intensive.

Older, evolved IT structures and solutions are often inflexible, depend on specific individuals and suppliers and do not sufficiently accommodate companies’ needs for agility, flexibility and cost effectiveness as they strive to compete at the highest levels of the global market.

Open source software requires formal open standards and allows for the flexible integration and exchange of individual modules that optimally meet business necessities over the long term. At the same time, open source software development processes make it possible for different companies to collaboratively define and develop software standards and thus decrease dependence on software suppliers. In this way, individual companies can significantly increase their market competitiveness.
Every year the OSBF presents the Open Source Business Award in two different categories:

• Open Source Business Award – Business Solutions (for companies using open source software)
• Open Source Business Award – Technology (for software manufacturers)

In each category three awards and a total of €75,000 prize money are given out. The ceremony usually takes place in January as a highlight of the Software Solution Europe Conference. This year the award will be presented on November (OSBA – Technology and OSBA – Business Solutions) in Hannover.

Participate in the competition requires the following steps to be completed:

• Submission of the Participation form
• Open Source Business Award – Technology
• Open Source Business Award – Business-Solution
• Participation confirmation by OSBF
• For software companies: submission of complete business plan

The European Open Source Business Award recognizes companies using open source technology for business solutions and software companies creating innovative, well conceived open source business ideas. An expert, independent jury will conduct a detailed review before selecting the winners.
Every year CIOs of companies using open source technology are singled out for supporting major business processes with open source software as well as software developers who set new standards with their open source software technology.

Take advantage of this opportunity to see how your open source business solution or your open source business idea measures up in the eyes of our expert judges. The Open Source Business Award defines new innovative trends in Europe for companies using and designing open source software and is also a unique platform for the exchange of information and valuable contacts.

1. Assessment criteria and weighting for all applications submitted for the

(a) Open Source Business Award – Technology – Open Source Company of the Year

Innovativeness and uniqueness (10%)
What degree of innovation has been demonstrated? To what extent does the proposal or concept represent an improvement or advancement over current knowledge? To what extent is the proposal or concept unique?
Creativity in the implementation/design (15%)
Are imagination and ingenuity evident in the implementation? Have new approaches and paths been sought out? To what extent do originality and imagination define the design?
Functionality/user-friendliness (5%)
Are the functions offered adequate for their described use or purpose? In what way are the application and use of the system intuitive and adapted and designed for the target group?
Feasibility (time-to-market) and/or ROI of the implemented solution (15%)
How rapidly can the software manufacturer’s business concept be implemented? Which go-to-market model was chosen and which sales and marketing concepts were used?
Attractiveness of the market – best practice for other companies (15%)
To what extent can new markets be created for the software manufacturer nationally and internationally or to what extent can existing markets be expanded?
Competitive advantage (10%)
To what extent has the manufacturer distinguished itself with its software technically or economically from its competitors and thus made itself more competitive?
Management quality (20%)
To what degree does the software manufacturer's management have the potential to implement the business plan and successfully lead the team?
Quality of the business plan – success factors (10%)
Is the software manufacturers’ business plan complete and convincing with respect to every major success factor?

(b) Open Source Business Award – Solution – Open Source CIO of the Year

Case study (10%)
Is a case study described that is currently in use?
Business process (20%)
Has the task been clearly defined? How has the implementation of the solution improved the business process?
Open source relevance (20%)
Have open source components contributed significantly to the solution?
Transparency (20%)
How have the business effects of the solution been quantitatively evaluated and communicated (ROI)?
General applicability (20%)
Is it clear that the implementation of this solution can be taken advantage of by other companies and industries as a best practice solution?
Competitiveness (10%)
Is it clear that the solution has made evident the potential for improvement of the company’s competitiveness?

2. Conditions for participation in the award competition

Who can participate?
Companies, government authorities, state offices and European-based consortia with an open source business concept or business solution that has at its foundation software with an OSI license

Where must all documents be submitted?
All documents must be sent to the business office of the Open Source Business Foundation.

Which documents must be submitted?
Participation form for

• Open Source Business Award – Technology
  
• Open Source Business Award – Business Solution 

The signed participation form must contain an abstract of a maximum of 1000 characters that describes the manufacturer’s open source business concept or the company’s open source business solution implementation in a clear manner. The participation form and the abstract are for planning purposes and abstracts may be published on the www.heiseopen.de website. This abstract is identical to the one required in the Open Source Meets Business conference call for papers.

Confirmation of participation by OSBF
Electronic and written confirmation by the Open Source Business Foundation (OSBF) with a participant number will indicate that the application has been accepted. This will be provided by our office, which can be contacted at any time if participants have any questions.

For software companies applying for the Open Source Business Award – Technology, the business model must be presented in the form of a complete business plan in German or English in .pdf format and must document the development and economic feasibility of the business idea in detail.
Deadline: 31 July 2010

For companies applying for the Open Source Business Award – Business Solution, the best business practice solution must be presented with the following documents:

• “Best Business Practice” (LINK CFP OSMB) presentation
• A more comprehensive description of the solution must also be submitted

This document is equivalent to the one required in the Software Solution Europe Conference

• Participation in the OSBA – Business Solution is conditional upon selection by the Open Source Meets Business conference programme committee and presentation of the business solution as a keynote address or as part of the Best Business Practice lecture series during the conference.

Note for applicants for the technology award: detailed handbooks and spreadsheets with notes for the creation of a business and financial plan are available to be downloaded from local business plan competition organizers, etc. All documents referred to here have not been specially created for software business concepts. For German-language documents, we refer applicants to the forms provided by our partner, netzwerk|nordbayern. For English-language documents and samples, we refer applicants to www.businessplans.org. The use of such documents and forms will make the work of both applicants and the jury significantly easier. Local organizations that hold business plan competitions can support applicants in the creation of their business plan. For open source-specific support, the Open Source Business Foundation and their Campus Coaches (through Richard Seibt) can provide assistance.

3. Participation form

The participation form for the business plan competition should be signed and submitted in Open Document Format as soon as possible so as to give the jury and organizers the opportunity to contact applicants early in the process and to assist them up until submission of the business plan and/or presentation.
The organizers will provide confirmation that applicants are officially entered in the competition.
By signing at the bottom of the participation form (for the business plan competition), the applicant authorizes the event organizer to forward all submitted documents to the competition jury and/or the Heise Zeitschriften Verlag.

With the second signature at the bottom of the participation form (for the business plan competition) Heise Zeitschriften Verlag is authorized to immediately publish information contained on the participation form on the www.heiseopen.de website. It is at the discretion of the Heise Zeitschriften Verlag to determine the nature and method of the publication. Four weeks after the publication on the www.heiseopen.de website, the information may be published again on the OSBF website.

Independent of the decision regarding immediate publication on the www.heiseopen.de website, the information on the participation form may be published on the OSBF website up to four weeks after the submission deadline.

The participation form will also serve for planning purposes and to determine which specific individual will receive the prize if that company or organization is deemed the winner.

4. Business coaching

A business coaching service offered by the Open Source Business Foundation is available for all participants in the competition.

5. Members of the jury

OSBF campus coaches
Members of the Open Source Meets Business (www.osmb.de) programme committee:
Mr. Schallbruch, Association CIO
Mr. Wellmann, CIO Rossmann
Mr. Urban, CIO Berliner Stadtreinigung
Mr. Oliver Dietrich, Editor in Chief of “heiseopen”, Heise Zeitschriften Verlag
Mr. Andre von Raison, Senior Editor of iX, Heise Zeitschriften Verlag
Mr. Heinrich Seeger, Senior Editor, Heise Zeitschriften Verlag
Mr. Siekmann, CIO RTLshop
Mr. Ingo Schwarzer, CTO DB Systel
Sponsors of the Open Source Business Awards

6. Marketing platform

The Open Source Business Award is an ideal marketing platform for participants. The competition provides exposure to new developments and offers participants the opportunity to make contact with potential investors, users and clients more quickly. Companies implementing open source applications have the opportunity to have the outstanding work of their IT departments evaluated and recognized.

Media support
With the signature on the participation form, all business concepts created by software manufacturers and open source solutions presented by companies (as described in the abstract) may be published on the website of the Heise Zeitschriften Verlag. The Heise Zeitschriften Verlag will provide details about this at the appropriate time. Heise Zeitschriften Verlag is, however, not legally bound to do so. It is free to choose and participants have no basis for legal appeal. The participant can also decline to have its information publicized. Four weeks after the publication of the information on the www.heiseopen.de website, the organizers may publish it on the OSBF website.

The winners will be announced in the press and media. With their participation in the competition they consent to have their names and photos published during the competition and in the event of being granted an award. All participants have the right to refer to their participation in the competition in their own marketing actions and to use the unmodified competition logo in their marketing documents.
The presentation of the Open Source Business Award will take place at the Heise Software Solution Europe Conference, during a large reception in the presence of IT decision makers from the European business world as well as politicians and the international open source community.

Selected applicants for the Technology Award (T) may hold a presentation during the Software Solution Europe Conference for representatives of end-users, venture capitalists and business angels.

To participate in the Open Source Business Award – Business Solution award competition companies must be selected and have their presentation on their Open Source solution accepted for the Best Practice lecture series or as a user keynote address at the Open Source Meets Business conference.

Membership in the Open Source Business Foundation
Participants will receive one year’s guest membership of the organization. This one-year guest membership is only valid for non-members and is effective once the organizer forwards the participation confirmation and the membership form for the Open Source Business Foundation e.V. (OSBF) is signed. Membership entitles participants to the business coaching services offered by OSBF, among other service offerings.

8. Prizes

Open Source Business Award – Technology:
1st Prize:  € 35,000
2nd Prize: € 10,000
3rd Prize:  € 5,000

Open Source Business Award – Business Solution:
1st Prize:  € 15,000
2nd Prize: € 6,000
3rd Prize:  € 4,000

If the jury determines that none of the applicants justify full payment of the prize money, these amounts may be reduced. It will be possible to award the prizes to multiple winners.

9. Sponsors

Companies interested in sponsoring the European Open Source Business Award will find a presentation available for download at the end of this chapter.

10. Legal conditions

Companies, consortia, government authorities and their state offices as well as private individuals based in or permanently residing in Europe, the open source business concept or business solution of which is based on software with an OSI license are eligible to participate.
For government authorities and companies, all documents must be filled out by a legally authorized representative. Proof of this authorization must be provided to the Open Source Business Foundation upon request.
Participation in the competition is only recognized upon confirmation by the Open Source Business Foundation. The OSBF reserves the right to deny participation without providing a specific reason.
Applicants expressly release the organizers from all claims by third parties resulting from the violation of copyrights, commercial trademark laws, business secrets or of any other rights in connection with the submitted documents.
By signing the participation form, applicants recognize the participation requirements as binding and communicate their consent to the public presentation of their work and the publication of their abstract as of the time of submission. The complete business plan submitted (T) will not be published.
The participant / authorized representative expressly consents to the electronic storage of personal information for the purposes of the competition.
The participant is responsible for all costs resulting from participation in the competition (including travel to the award ceremony).
The jury will make its determinations completely objectively and without providing specific reasons. The jury’s decisions are final. The organizers reserve the right to award no prizes. No legal appeals will be permitted. All information is subject to change.
Confidentiality
Organizers, sponsors and the members of the jury are under obligation to use any confidential information received for the purposes of the Open Source Business Award for the sole purposes of the preparation and carrying out of the competition, to handle this information confidentially and especially to deny any third parties access to it. They undertake not to forward or show the documents to any third parties. The abstract will not be considered confidential.
This obligation does not apply to information that is or has become generally known (e.g.. information contained in the public presentation of the award-winning company or organization) and that has verifiably been independently derived or legally obtained by third parties.

11. Event organizers

Open Source Business Foundation e.V. (OSBF), Theresienstrasse 9, D 90403 Nuremberg

13. Regional Business Plan Competition

Recommendation for OSBA – Technology participants
Open Source Business Foundation e.V. places emphasis on close collaboration with local business plan competitions (see below) in Europe. All participants are urgently recommended to participate in local business plan competitions and to take advantage of all forms of support and training for young business leaders, in order to prepare themselves well and potentially win prizes at a local level.

Sachsen http://www.futuresax.de
Nordbayern http://netzwerk-nordbayern.de/
Baden-Württemberg http://www.cyberone.de
Hamburg http://www.hep-online.de
München http://www.mbpw.de Dortmund http://www.start2grow.de
Rheinland http://www.n-u-k.de
Wolfsburg http://www.promotion.giz.de
Saarland – Rheinland-Pfalz http://www.123go-networking.org
Nordhessen http://www.promotion-nordhessen.de
Bremen – Weser, Ems http://www.promotion-weser-ems.de
Berlin-Brandenburg http://www.b-p-w.de
Bayern:
Landkreise Eichstätt, Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, Pfaffenhofen a.d. Ilm, Stadt Ingolstadt http://www.bpw10.de
Universitäten: Kassel, Göttingen, Marburg, Fachhochschule Fulda http://www.startnetz.org
Thüringen http://www.bpw-thueringen.de
Bundesweit http://www.science4life.de
Bundesweit http://www.gruenderwettbewerb.de
Deloitte – Capital http://www.fast50.de
Bundesweit http://www.startup-initiative.de
Österreich:
Tirol http://www.adventurex.info/
Vorarlberg http://www.incubator.cc
Norwegen http://www.startnorway.org
Italien http://www.venetonanotech.it
Schweiz http://www.venture.ch
Dänemark http://www.venturecup.dk
USA http://www.mit50k.net/
 

  

Richard Seibt, CEO OSBF
eMail: richard.seibt@osbf.de