01342nas a2200133   4500008004100000022001400041245006900055210006900124260004200193520089700235100001801132700002201150856003601172       2010                        eng d  a1913-610200aOpen Source Contributions as a Complement to Your Sales Strategy0 aOpen Source Contributions as a Complement to Your Sales Strategy  aOttawabTalent First Networkc10/20103 aFreeform Solutions, a not-for-profit IT consultancy, discovered a large portion of its work was being carried out without being paid for directly from consulting fees. This led to an investigation of the nature of such pro bono work, and what value it could provide to Freeform and its clients.

Supporting open source communities was determined to be the most significant use of the time possible. Accordingly, Freeform has taken steps to focus a significant portion of its work on that task, and to integrate this work with its overall orientation to clients.

This commitment to open source provides a strong differentiator in the marketplace. It also enables one kind of prioritization of sales leads. Ultimately, the commitment to the work is considered the most important aspect of the work, rather than the specific kind of activities that are undertaken, or how they are paid for.1 aCôté, Jason1 aEgelstaff, Julian  uhttp://timreview.ca/article/38701243nas a2200133   4500008004100000022001400041245006300055210006000118260004200178520081400220100001801034700002201052856003501074       2007                        eng d  a1913-610200aSupporting Not-for-Profits: an Opportunity for the Commons0 aSupporting NotforProfits an Opportunity for the Commons  aOttawabTalent First Networkc11/20073 aIn 2004, the Nonprofit Open Source Initiative (NOSI) released "Choosing and Using Free and Open Source Software: A Primer for Nonprofits". The primer describes the potential impact that Free/Libre and Open Source Software (F/LOSS) might have on the not-for-profit (NFP) sector. In a recently released update, the primer concludes that, despite many advances in the use of F/LOSS in the sector over the past several years, a real and perceived lack of support remains a significant barrier to the increased adoption of F/LOSS by NFPs. 

Support is often the last thing people think of when they think of F/LOSS and NFPs. Instead, people tend to focus on the price, which is of particular importance to cash-strapped NFPs. There is a widely held belief that free software represents a cost savings to NFPs. 
1 aCôté, Jason1 aEgelstaff, Julian  uhttp://timreview.ca/article/56