Globant and BT Hold the first UK-Argentina Simultaneous Code Jam

Developers in partnership on the MediaWikiUnplugged Project, an open source platform that has been released to the Global OS community

Buenos Aires, June, 2009. – Globant, one of the global leaders in the development of innovative software products, and BT´s Osmosoft Open Source Innovation Team (http://www.osmosoft.com/) held the first simultaneous UK-Argentina “Code Jam”.

The Code Jam took place on March 13th at the BT offices in London, England and Globant´s offices in Buenos Aires, Argentina and aimed to release an open source project called MediaWikiUnplugged  ( www.mediawikiunplugged.com ).

London, England and Globant´s offices in Buenos Aires, Argentina and aimed to release an open source project called MediaWikiUnplugged  ( www.mediawikiunplugged.com ).

A ‘code jam’ is where a group of software developers get around a table for a day to write, finalize, debug and launch a new software application. In this case it happened in two different locations on two continents.

This platform, launched at the end of the event, allows wiki users to view MediaWiki-based site contents while being ‘unplugged’ − not connected to the Internet − giving them the possibility to edit, collaborate and synchronize corporate wikis without having an Internet connection.

Wikis are like private Wikipedia sites, and MediaWiki is the same base software platform that Wikipedia uses.

“The Code Jam was an incredible experience, both from the engineering and the testing point of view. We were able to work together with BT´s team in London and with Globant´s team in Buenos Aires, to launch our work at the end of the day,“ explained Guibert Englebienne, Globant CTO. “It’s amazing to see how two companies work together to produce open source code, in a distributed and highly creative environment”.

Ricardo Moral – Globant´s UK Based BT Engagement Manager added: “The MediaWikiUnplugged Project is a great example of how two innovative companies can work together towards a common goal of delivering value to both the Open-Source community and corporate end users alike”.

Jeremy Ruston, head of BT Osmosoft, said: “We are really pleased with the results. BT is really keen to exploit Open Source principles for its own benefit and those of other users and organizations. This is a great example of how different organizations can work together on Open Source projects and produce big results very quickly, with minimal cost and effort.”

JP Rangaswami, strategy director for BT Design added: “It also provides a new business model for inter-company partnering. Two companies on two continents applied themselves to a common problem and succeeded in producing great work, without the usual large overhead of the time and effort in setting up formal agreements and contractual arrangements.”

MediaWikiUnplugged was launched in an alpha version while the team waits for comments and suggestions from the first users, with which they will make future updates.  

About Globant

Globant is one of the international leaders in the creation of innovative software products that appeal to global audiences. Globant combines a rational blend of Open-Source with proprietary software, which brings flexibility, mitigates risk and ultimately reduces costs. Globant’s proprietary SmartStaffing Technology™ yields high performance teams that enable companies to quickly develop their software products and gain an edge in the competitive landscape with the lowest total cost. Globant is a privately held, privately funded company headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina with offices in Tandil, Córdoba, Rosario and La Plata in Argentina, Palo Alto, Austin and Boston in the United States, Mexico City, Bogota, Santiago de Chile and London. For more information, visit www.globant.com

About BT

BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to our customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.
In the year ended 31 March 2008, BT Group’s revenue was £20,704 million with profit before taxation and specific items of £2,506 million.
British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.
For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt

Contact

Globant Contact: Wanda Weigert
wanda.weigert@globant.com
+1 212 400 7686

BT contact: Jon Carter, BT Group Newsroom, London UK
jonathan.carter@bt.com
+44 20 7356 4523 (or +44 20 7356 5369)