Open Source has a long history. A more complete discourse on the history and meaning of Open Source can be found at Wikipedia.

Open Source - The Bottom Line

Software developers have created their own programming teams to create solutions to common problems.  In some cases the software developers have also built a company to support the software product.  Open source developers usually have at least one version of their product that can be used FREE.  The caveat is that you are on your own to download the software and install it on your own server.

The developers have created the free software for several reasons:

• New product developers are more likely to contribute their efforts to help build the package if they know it can be used to solve their own business issues.
• It's great advertising to sell add-on installation, configuration, and on-going support services.
• The organization sponsoring the open source package is seen by the community at large as a "subject matter expert" -- another form of advertising.

Many open source alternatives are so popular that many hosting companies have made it extremely easy to install the software.  For example, Wordpress is a popular open source content management system.  Almost all hosting companies have a "one click install" button for Wordpress as a part of their hosting account offering.  If you pay for a hosting account, Wordpress is just one button away from working on your site.

What does this mean for your business?

You can save a lot of money in software license fees by using an open source alternative.  For example, instead of purchasing the Microsoft Office suite of products, you can download Open Office.  The suite of products has a great reputation for essentially doing everything the Office suite of products does -- and it is free.

There is still a cost associated with using open source software.  You may need some help installing and configuring the software.  This really isn't an incremental cost.  You would have needed someone to help you configure the package that required an upfront purchase fee.  Your savings with open source is not having to pay the upfront cost.

You will also need to have a hosting account for the web based software options.  The cost to purchase shared space with other users is pretty economical.  When your volume grows you may need to rent your own server.   Dedicated servers are readily available and can be configured very quickly.

Recommended Open Source Software

More than likely an open source alternative exists for your most common business requirements.  You will need to research options on your own or hire a consultant to help you.  Due diligence is important.  You need to make sure the package has a reputation for WORKING as specified.

The most common options for open source are: Customer Relationship Management, Content Management, eMail, eCommerce shopping carts, forums, bulletin boards, customer ticketing systems.

Summary

Non Stop Portals can help you to define your business requirements and research options for your needs.  If an open source alternative isn't really out there, we will provide purchase options as well.  Once your choice has been made, we will install, configure, and train you on how to use the software.

By Jerry Helms

I recently attended a three-day training class on Agile Project Management. The instructor in the class compared and contrasted Agile Software Development to Waterfall Software Development. I started asking myself when was the last time I ever worked on a project that used the waterfall approach? I really could not remember a project that I could associate with the strictest interpretation of what the waterfall approach means.

As I continued to think about the issue, I came to the realization that comparing Agile to Waterfall using the "strict" definition is primarily a teaching metaphor. The "blinding flash of the obvious" was that Agile focuses on continuous team improvement and new techniques have been developed to focus on improving performance.

I just purchased an ink pen that also records my handwriting. Oh, it also records the audio that is going on at the same time that I am writing! I can transfer the handwritten notes and audio to my PC via a USB connection to make it easier for me to find my notes in the future.

Watch a pencast of how the technology works.

This new digital recording ink pen is now available at your local office supply and electronics stores!

The following is the text of an actual email sent by Jerry Helms to a business connection on LinkedIn. The names have been changed.

Dear John,

I noticed that you have been working on your LinkedIn profile the last few days. Enhancing your LinkedIn profile is one of the most important things you can do to enhance visibility for you AND ABC Company.

Content created on LinkedIn is heavily searched by the major search engines. Just try searching for your name -- your LinkedIn profile is probably on the first page of the results.

It's fair to ask "why would anyone be searching for me anyway"? If they already know my name, then they should know how to find me. Well, that's the point. ALL of the content in your LinkedIn profile is indexed. So enhancing the description of ABC Company and your products on LinkedIn will improve traffic back to your main web site.

Here is a short list of things you need to do for your LinkedIn profile:

1. Think about the search terms that people would use to find your company. Write content in your personal summary and job history sections that uses these search terms. It's not just about YOU, it's also about your company.
2. Create a separate company profile for ABC Company in LinkedIn.
3. I would encourage others at ABC Company to enhance their profiles. They will be using LinkedIn to find new customers.
4. Make sure you point back to the ABC Company web site using both the web site links area and within the content.

Spending some time every day building your network on LinkedIn is valuable, but it's more important to have good content (words) in your summary and job history. Remember -- write about the company as well as you personally.

There is a huge amount of other things that can be done to enhance ABC Company's visibility on the Internet. This just happens to be one you can do yourself.

Let me know if you need some help!

Thanks,
Jerry Helms

Managing my contact information is a big challenge.  Non Stop Portals is a small business.  Keeping up with the names and information for customers/prospects for the larger organizations that I have worked with was also a challenge.

I would like to hear from you if you have a similar problem!  We need to figure out a solution.

There are a lot of reasons organizations decide that it is time to upgrade their website. The most common reason is to generate more business by making it easier for buyers to find the product/service offered by the company. Business owners are using the Internet to find other companies that they want to do business with, so they recognize the importance of selling their own services through the Internet.

This article describes some of the planning questions you need to be ready to answer when getting ready to build a new web site or revamp an existing site.