"InfoWorld's recognition of the Open Source community couldn't come at a better time," said O'Reilly. "The momentum behind Linux, the development of 'hybrid' business models that include both open source and proprietary software by companies like Sendmail and Scriptics, and the continuing strength of open source software such as Apache and Perl all point to a robust, diverse future for a spectrum of development models that leverage the strengths of collaborative development and open standards. Open-source software has reinvigorated the industry."
In announcing the award, InfoWorld's Nicholas Petreley stated, "This year's Industry Achievement award is dedicated to the entire community of collaborative software developers. Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO of O'Reilly & Associates--the leading publisher of books about the Internet and open-source technologies such as Perl, Linux, and Apache--will be accepting the award on their behalf."
O'Reilly's leadership role in the open source community extends beyond his firm's publishing program. As the Internet became the centerpiece of the current economic boom, O'Reilly reminded the business world that the Internet's development was made possible by open standards and collaborative development processes. He undertook a personal campaign to make clear that open source was a force not only on the operating system front (via Linux) but also a key part of the Internet infrastructure. He worked to bring much-deserved recognition to open source pioneers like Eric Allman (Sendmail), Paul Vixie (BIND), Larry Wall (Perl), and the Apache Group.
In April 1998, O'Reilly invited key West Coast developers to the first Freeware Summit, an event that galvanized the community and focused press attention on the importance of collaborative software development. Summit participants agreed to adopt Eric Raymond's new term, "Open Source," and to work together to increase acceptance and use of open-source software. O'Reilly also presented Open Source Developer's Day in August 1998, the first public education event about open-source software development. In August 1999, O'Reilly is offering technical conferences on open source technologies including Linux, Apache, Perl, Tcl, and Sendmail (http://conferences.oreilly.com). The company recently published Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution, a collection of essays written by leaders of the Open Source movement about how it works, why it succeeds, and where it is going.
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Open Source is a trademark of the Open Source Initiative.
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