ANN ARBOR, M.I., August 18, 2009 – Joining a broad cross-section of more than 1,000 companies, academic institutions, communities, related groups and individuals, The Linux Box is now part of Open Source for America, a unified voice for the promotion of open source in the U.S. Federal government sector.  Open Source for America strives to effect change in government to encourage broader support of open source technologies and the open source development community. 

“We’ve received great response from companies, organizations and individuals interested in joining together to advocate for greater use of open source software in the U.S. federal government,” said David Thomas, principal at Mehlman Vobel Castagnetti and spokesman for the Open Source for America campaign.  “We are very pleased to welcome The Linux Box in joining our cause and look forward to their active involvement in articulating the true value open source delivers to the U.S. government.” 

Founded in 1999, The Ann Arbor-based company is a bespoke software development consultancy that customizes open source projects for clients across a variety of sectors.  The Linux Box provides professional services for organizations looking to gain competitive advantage, reduce IT costs and increase the control they have over their open source technologies. 

“As part of the Infrastructure Subcommittee, The Linux Box will be calling on over a decade of integration and project management experience in the open source space,” said Elizabeth Ziph, CEO and co-founder of The Linux Box.  “In this tough economic climate, both private and public companies are leveraging open source technologies to solve business and IT challenges.  The U.S. government, however, has not been as quick to leverage the collaborative power of open source software.  As a member of OSA, we will do our best to promote the freedoms that open source software and open technology solutions can provide – an open, transparent and cost-effective option – for government agencies.”

As a member of Open Source for America, The Linux Box has pledged to support the organization’s mission and its founding principles.  This includes the belief that the U.S. federal government can and should become more transparent, participatory, secure and efficient by leveraging the advantages of open source software; the open source community can drive collaborative innovation for government; and the decision to use software should be driven solely by the requirements of the user. 

To learn more about Open Source for America, please visit www.opensourceforamerica.org.

About The Linux Box

The Linux Box (www.linuxbox.com) is a professional services organization specializing in open source technology and the Linux platform in the server, cluster and desktop environments.  It provides software development and customization services to a broad range of clients in industries ranging from energy and financial services to government, life sciences and the utilities.

About Open Source for America

Open Source for America is a coalition of industry leaders, non-government groups and academic/research institutions organized to serve as a centralized advocate, to encourage broader U.S. Federal Government support of and participation in free and open source software.  Membership in Open Source for America is open to any individual or entity signing the campaign’s mission pledge.  Learn more at www.opensourceforamerica.org.  You can also follow Open Source for America on Twitter at https://twitter.com/OpenSourceGov

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