Video: Burton Group Advisor on Open Source for Corporations

One of the points Howard makes is that generally it's not the CIOs that directly recognize the need for open source. Instead, it's the developers and administrators in the lower echelons, which results in the technical leadership of the company becoming involved. Also in the video, Howard makes a distinction between the innovation-friendly leadership models of some large corporations, and those that are less friendly.

Since 2007, Chris Howard has been Vice Manager and Service Director of the Executive Advisory Program at Burtons, headquartered in Ohio. His role is to advise and act as a link between IT and higher management. For many years he's been a guest professor in the U.S. and Great Britain. Before he became an advisor, he had a leading role in the IT department of a U.S. bank. The Burton Group sees itself as an independent study facility with an advisory role. Most of the studies it undertakes are for customer contracts, but every month or so, it carries out a study which focuses on its own themes.