Optaros Inc., an open source software consulting and integration firm, today announced its expansion into the European market. Optaros has opened a European office in Geneva, Switzerland, and appointed a veteran of the consulting and systems integration business, Frederic Weill, to run it.

The entry into Europe comes a year after Optaros launched its American business, which provides strategic advice and software development services that help major enterprises dramatically reduce their software costs and build critical systems faster. Optaros plans to open additional European offices over the next year.

“Large enterprises are using open source software globally. Our new European presence enables us to better serve these global companies,” said Bob Gett, Optaros chief executive officer and president. “We also see the benefits of cross-fertilizing the best open source ideas between Europe and North America. Open source software is flourishing in European government agencies, while in North America the financial services, telecommunications, and life sciences industries are leading the way.”

Weill has deep expertise in helping large enterprises make strategic technology decisions. He has worked for Novell, Cambridge Technology Partners, McKinsey & Company, SGS Societe Generale de Surveillance S.A. and Accenture.

“Optaros has been pioneering many of the business principles that help large enterprises benefit from open source software, and I´m looking forward to bringing the European perspective to their efforts,” said Weill, who becomes VP and managing director of Optaros´ European operations.

Weill said one of his first initiatives is to tap low-cost software engineering expertise from Eastern Europe and Asia. He will also help Optaros tap into the many “communities” of software developers who collaborate on open source software projects, many of which are based in Europe.

Large organizations have been rapidly adopting open source software to reduce technology costs, build systems faster and of higher quality, and gain more control over their technology direction. Over the last decade, companies have been using open source software for operating systems, databases, web servers and other “infrastructure” software. More recently, organizations are using open source software and software based on open standards to develop business applications, largely custom-developed.  About Optaros Optaros, Inc. (www.optaros.com) is a venture capital-funded consulting and systems integration firm that helps large enterprises use open source software to reduce the cost of commercial software and rapidly build high-quality, cost-effective and more flexible business applications. Based in Cambridge, Mass., the firm provides a range of services necessary for enterprises to maximize the benefits of open source software — to replace existing costly proprietary software or to build new business applications. Having launched two of the most successful IT service companies of the last two major shifts in technology, Optaros´ management brings substantial expertise to creating a company that can help clients fully adopt new technology models and platforms.