[OSGeo-Discuss] options for getting paid technical/mentoring support on foss geo applications

[Arnulf Christl]

maning sambale wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> We are a non-profit research institution in the Philippines providing
> geospatial related research to local partners.  This year we are
> getting more involved with the use of several FOSS geo packages
> (mostly under OSGEO projects).

Maning,
thanks for the decision to use Open Source software. Contacting this
list is a good idea. All interested parties should feel free to contact
Maning through this list or off directly to offer their services.

> We want to assist local partners in deploying FOSS products within
> their institutions (either as a desktop or server based solutions or
> customized apps).
> 
> In many cases we can get support from the numerous mailinglist.
> However, there maybe cases when we will be needing paid technical
> support or specific application customization.  In the future, we want
> to develop this capacity in house and the give back to the community.
> But for the moment, we are looking for developers or consultants who
> can help us.

You can find a list of Open Source service providers in the OSGeo
directory [1]. None of them are endorsed by OSGeo and the directory is
self maintained, but it may serve as a starting point.

> What we see is a sort of mentoring mechanism.  Our staff will be
> involved with assisting our partners develop their geospatial
> solutions.  But we may need regular mentoring/technical assistance.
> Since we will be using several geo apps (desktop, server), we need
> experts in many fields.
> 
> I'm currently looking at opengeo's services and it seems to provide
> the support we need.
> http://opengeo.org/
> http://opengeo.org/products/

Please notice that although OSGeo.org sounds similar to OpenGeo.org the
two organizations have a completely different background and are not
directly related. OpenGeo is not the official service provider for OSGeo
software but offer services like any another provider listed in the
directory or elsewhere. Sorry for the potentially confusing names.

> Any other ideas/individuals/orgs who can help us?  Note that we are
> not looking for people to develop the applications for us what we need
> are technical advise as we develop the request solutions from our
> partners.
> 
> Many thanks in advance.

Best regards,
Arnulf Christl.

[1] http://www.osgeo.org/search_profile

-- 
Arnulf Christl
President OSGeo
http://www.osgeo.org