Open Source Realities   +   Your Infrastructure   =   Fresh Opportunities

Sunarcher is a private service consultancy led by Dr. Jamie Dinkelacker. We provide a clear, easy-to-understand personal dialog about open source software, licensing, real benefits and costs, opportunities and risks, and fresh business insights.

Most executives can benefit by coming to a deeper appreciation regarding the truth about open source software: where it helps, where it doesn't, where it's superior, and where it isn't. This knowledge pays off quickly in terms of improved assessments of your Information Technology (IT) functions, software expenditures, personnel budgets, and recurring license costs.

Open Source Software is a rising tide in IT environments around the world. While promising significant cost savings from a license perspective, open source potentially adds other burdens to labor costs or raises integration challenges. The Open Source Advisory clarifies these issues into an easy-to-understand set of observations and equips executives to make informed decisions about their IT operations, upon which every aspect of today's modern business depends.

Jamie Dinkelacker, Ph.D. is Sunarcher's principal consultant. He is a Director of the Center for Open Source Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University, West Coast Campus. He has decades of experience working with IT and has managed world-wide open source IT operations for such places as Hewlett Packard Labs and others. He has held positions with companies ranging from venture funded startups such as Netscape to global Fortune corporations like HP and Apple. He is a consulting professor of software engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, West, and is a director of Carnegie Mellon's Center for Open Source Innovation. The Sunarcher team is a small network of highly proficient professionals who join together for projects as appropriate.

The Sunarcher Open Source Advisory Engagement

Activities

> An brief conversation with the senior executive arranging for the Conversation about topics, agenda, and pressing issues facing the organization, followed by a conversation with the CIO about the current infrastructure, software, licenses, plans, and challenges.
> A day or two of facilitated conversations with select personnel about their IT infrastructure, their software programs and current everyday ways of working, and where efficiency can be introducted and costs removed. (For example, few executives recognize the total costs of managing security patches, risk assessment and abatement, and maintaining smooth operations.)

Work Product

> A written summary of current software operatons and specific suggestions about open source software for the business
> A day or two of facilitated conversations with The Sunarcher Organization in a relaxed workshop-like atmosphere with an emphasis on interaction, understanding, and pragmatics
> A written list of leadership speaking points, rationales, and examples for communicating about open source software with executive senior staff and others in the organization
> A follow-up report within two weeks reiterating notable ideas that emerged during the conversations with action plans for implementing action

Details

> Duration: A typical engagement runs two to three days
> Fees: Typically range from $3,000 to $12,000, depending on complexity and duration
> Location: The Sunarcher Open Source Advisory serves Silicon Valley, Monterey Bay, and the Greater San Fransciso Bay area

Today: Learn the Opportunites and Risks of Open Source Software

If you're an interested executive and would like a personal conversation with Jamie Dinkelacker, please call 650-941-2648 in Los Altos. We'll arrange a time to talk about your IT operations, software usage, and where there's likely latent opportunities in your organization.