Selling the benefits...

One of the projects that I will be running throughout this Blog will be to build and create a virtual Open Source operate business, run totally on Free Open Source software. It's one thing to be able to talk about the tools but it's another to prove how they can coexist. The big players in business have marketing budgets, teams of ad men pacing boardrooms doing SWOT analysis and brain storming the message and brand. Open Source development teams (sometimes it's just one person!) don't normally have or want that luxury. They want to develop quality software and leave it up to the public to decide. They might get reviews in journals and blogs (like this) and might be surviving through Donations. They may be geographically dispersed teams collaborating through various means, possibly driven by the frustrations that sometimes come from untested release to market software that simply doesn't work.

All too often in Business, I get asked the question "...but is it compatible?". And the answer is more often than not, a resounding yes. An example of this is Freemind. I used the excellent MindManager from Mindjet in a previous company and when faced with a need for Mind Mapping software, I realised that Mindet wasn't available but a quick search lead me to Freemind. It does exactly what I need from a Mind Mapping tool but at no cost. It's compatible in every way required and with PDF generation available was an instant hit. Time to go viral.

I informed a colleague, who instructed her willing team to try it and low and behold, it's been downloaded, installed in a typical Microsoft Windows based office environment and so far, it's holding it's own.

Compatibility is mostly down to a users willingness to change or not. If you can sell the benefits and do your own internal marketing and establish the appropriate level of user training, the compatibility question will significantly diminish. so do your user needs analysis, dispel the myths, sell the benefits and you'll find yourself with happy users and a very happy financial controller.