If you are a Non-Profit, consider this:
Unlike For-Profit companies, Non-profits generally aren't
looking for a competitive advantage over their competition, but
rather a cost-effective way to serve their members, constituency,
clients or those in need. Technology often becomes part of
that solution, especially in today's world.
Although every organization does things in a slightly different
way, there are many commonalities in the problems that need to be
solved by all organizations and by organizations in similar fields
as yours.
So we must ask the question, why should each organization
pay full price to create the same wheels in slightly different
ways, when by pooling resources things can be
done more efficiently and with better quality.
Challenging times call for creative solutions
Let's face it, it's a tough time for Non-Profits.
Donations are down, costs are up and for many Non-Profits, the need
for their services is greater than ever. Although often
contributing to general cost savings over time, IT costs,
especially for custom development and programming can be
high. What can be done?
Member Source, that's what. Member source is the middle
ground between Open Source and proprietary code. In Open
Source code, you often get the code for free, but the code is
focused around a particular product or service. In
proprietary code, you usually don't have access to modify or fix
the code directly, but rather are stuck working within the
limitations of the product.
Member source is similar to Open Source in that you have access
to the code for the functionality you use and a community of other
organizations who need the same functionality. But unlike
Open Source, Member Sourced code is focused on the Verticals,
allowing organizations in the same field to collaborate on multiple
needs rather than on a particular product or service.
Your code has value... are you utilizing it?
So, you may say, I've already spent the money to create a custom
solution, what do I gain from sharing it? Well, not only will
you be helping other members keep their costs down, but you will
also have access to improvements in your code both for free and for
a reduced price, depending on the situation.
Free. That's a good word. Well, any code that is
improved upon by members of the community, requires, under the
member license, that the improvements are shared with the other
members. In other words, everyone will gain the benefit of
any member improvements.
Also, Webangelo, as hosts of this service will be using
membership fees to fund our efforts of categorizing and improving
the total code base available to our members. Since
increasing the value of the member code provides value for our
existing members, it makes good business sense to improve the
quality of the code submitted.
In fact, over time we will be creating a managed solution base
from the code submitted by the members. This managed solution
base will take the various verticals and create best practice
solutions from the code submitted.
Where does reduced price come in? Well, not every update
will happen as soon as each member desires. So, to
acknowledge that, every member will receive a discount on custom
coding efforts to help meet their needs in a more timely
manner. The more code you contribute that meets new needs or
does things in a better way, the greater the discount.
Although, every member will receive a significant discount just for
joining, the sooner an organization joins and submits
their code, the better it will be as they will more likely be the
first to meet a need with their code.
Coming Soon
Although we are still putting the finishing touches on this
offering, the sooner you contact us with your interest, the
better. If you are interested in helping us get this option
off the ground, we want to hear from you.
Contact
Webangelo now to discuss this unique engagement
model.
