The Open Group's management services offer a range of activities from initial set-up (legal, financial, organizational assistance) to support for ongoing management and operation, and provision of  the infrastructure services necessary for successful operation (web-based collaboration, mailing lists, etc.).

The Open Group's experience is based both on work for clients, and on managing its own internal affairs since 1984, including the merger of several organizations in the USA, Europe and Asia.

Consortia Formation

The Open Group can quickly establish various parts of the consortia start-up phase, including legal, financial and overall organization and can also help consortia engaged in re-structuring, merger or getting established in new territories or legal jurisdictions.

Types of services offered:

• Legal framework set-up
• Consortia structuring on a national or global basis
• Legal incorporation
• Preparation of charters, by-laws, confidentiality, and other legal agreements and documentation
• Membership agreements, including voting and other rights, obligations and benefits
• Technical documents and related policy documentation
• Antitrust measures
• Developing intellectual property policies, and technical committee policies and procedures
• Developing and implementing intellectual property licensing programs to minimize patent infringement risks
• Partnership and other contractual arrangements on a global basis
• Employment Law
• Tax Law
• Data protection
• Liability

• Overall procedures, auditing and tax requirements in a national and international setting
• Development and administration of membership application and renewal processes and procedures
• Structuring employment, compensation and competitive benefit programs for consortium staff
• Budgeting

• Operational policies and procedures
• Consultation on appropriate member classes, rights, working groups and membership fees

Recently, The Open Group assisted the HR-XML Consortium with production of a legally robust framework for its membership agreement.  Similar work specifically on membership agreements includes the X.Org membership agreements and by-laws, the DBIOP membership agreements and procedures, and the PKI Forum membership agreements, by-laws and procedures.

Operations

The Open Group can perform overall management of a consortium's ongoing operation, or provide specific services as required. Consortia can be managed and run as a completely separate entity, integrated within The Open Group, or managed in some other agreed-upon manner.  The Open Group respects customer needs regarding identity, integrity and control.

Typical operations services include:

• Strategic planning and implementation support
• Board, Committee and Working Group support
• Financial management and administration
• Membership management and administration
• Provision of "front office" functions
• Project management and coordination
• Meetings and Events
• Infrastructure provision

Operational services are utilized within The Open Group's own Forums, as well as they are provided to external consortia.

Services related to the development of standards, specifications and best practices are covered under Standard and Best Practices.

Infrastructure Provision

The Open Group has a number of integrated systems designed to meet the various needs of consortia.  These systems can be adjusted to suite the client's needs to present their own look and feel, control access to the information, etc. This infrastructure service provides the foundational systems that enable consortia to establish a presence on the Internet, enable web-based collaboration and communication within a consortium, provide for membership and event management, and for document review. The Open Group's computer systems integrate email and web services employing a relational database system.  This provides both internet and intranet capabilities.  

Fig: Main components

Infrastructure provision includes:

• eMail services
• web hosting
• web-based collaboration tools ( overview)
• Administration of access control systems for email, web, etc.
• membership database
• conference and event management tools
• web survey and voting
• online document review system (described under standards and best practices services)
• links to a number of Open Group resources that may be utilized by a consortia