As we sit on the cusp of Q2 2008, we are far enough along in the year to see that we are indeed traveling in the right direction as an industry, as a community and as an organization. The question is no longer "What is open source?" nor is it "Am I using open source?" it is now, "How can I best manage my open source?" It has moved from its past as backroom Voodoo programming to become common place. The significant shift in both understanding and use can best be described as the "next generation of open source" - more prevalent, more robust, more secure.

Palamida continues to be a tireless supporter of open source use and adoption and believe, as CEO Mark Tolliver put it, "open source is how software gets made". One can look back on analyst and journalist predictions on open source growth - some completely right and some very off base. We can say with confidence that open source software is such an intrinsic part of application development that the argument "for" or "against", "if" or "if not", no longer exists.

While passions sometimes lead to verbal fisticuffs amongst parts of the community - those of the "does free really equal free?" and "free should equal free!" camps - the deep commitment to quality, functionality, collaboration, and cost effectiveness has not waned. We are proud to be part of such a rich ecosystem of forward-thinking organizations and individuals that embody the frontier mentality that has made the next generation of open source a fantastic reality.

-Melisa LaBancz-Bleasdale