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June 26, 2006
Breaking News:
GGF, EGA Form Open Grid Forum
The Enterprise Grid Alliance (EGA) and the Global Grid Forum (GGF) announced the completion of their merger, forming the Open Grid Forum (OGF). The new organization brings together the industry's two leading Grid standards organizations to accelerate the pervasive adoption of grids worldwide. It will be led by former GGF chairman Mark Linesch, who will serve as president and chief executive officer.  

OGF will benefit from the EGA's enterprise expertise and focus on near-term practical results coupled with the GGF's open, collaborative approach to Grid research, best practices and standards development. OGF provides an open forum that brings together key individuals and organizations from the Grid community to identify and remove barriers; workshop solutions; and deliver specifications that will expedite Grid adoption. As an open standards organization, OGF collaborates extensively with other standards development organizations to align with existing industry standards and develop new specifications.

Organizational membership in the OGF will be available in Platinum, Gold and Silver levels, costing $50,000, $25,000 and $10,000, respectively. Non-profits will be able to join under the Silver level at a price of $5,000, and there will also be an individual membership level, said Linesch during a conference call announcing the new organization. In addition, Platinum members will be allowed up to 10 nominations for Board seats, and there will also be five at-large Board seats, which will be filled by members of the general Grid community. Linesch said he believes the Board will help achieve balance "between our largest stakeholders and the broad, international community that we represent."

"This merger integrates the passion, expertise and experience of the EGA and GGF members to enhance our capability to deliver results faster, communicate more clearly and collaborate more effectively," said Linesch. "The name Open Grid Forum is inspired by our international community of grid researchers, developers, educators, users and solution providers who by working together, open new doors to scientific discovery, business value and commercial adoption worldwide."

"The combined knowledge and expertise brought by both GGF and EGA participants will create a strong, progressive organization to better serve the grid computing community at large," said Don Deutsch, president of the EGA. "By integrating the best of both organizations, we are able to better connect the interests of enterprise, academia and government in an open, collaborative environment that stimulates innovation, promotes interoperability and advocates for the value of Grid computing."

Over the next several months, OGF will focus on completing the merger integration. It will finalize the Board of Directors and day-to-day operations leadership team; transition current members and recruit new members into the organization; leverage old, and build new, alliances with standards bodies and industry associations; and build out its regional functions across the globe.

"The merger of the rich traditions of research innovation of the GGF and the standards-driven products and services of the EGA provides a significant opportunity to address existing and future complex distributed computing requirements and challenges," said J.S. Hurley, senior manager of Distributed Software and Systems Integration at The Boeing Company. "The OGF has the potential to have an immediate impact and far-reaching implications across diverse user communities. The evolution of grid computing into a mainstream technology has moved a step closer."

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Next Monday, GRIDtoday will be running an exclusive interview with OGF president and CEO Mark Linesch, and will continue to cover the OGF as it evolves into a fully functional organization.