[Marketing] Question about FOSS4G Business Models

[daniele.ocu ocu]

Hi all,

A friend of mine at a medium-sized IT company needs to convince his
company management and finances to invest in FOSS4G technologies
over the next 5 years. The company presently does a small part of
its business using FOSS4G tools but is wondering if it should take
a deeper plunge into the FOSS4G world.

In order to convince the company management and finance departments, they
need
to produce a document with concrete data about *how companies elsewhere in
the world
are profiting, growing, increasing market share and the kind of clients
that they are catering to*. Even company brochures, financial reports
etc. would help.

The company also wants to consider marketing broad based services for
SDI using FOSS4G technologies and would like to know market potential
in other countries and region for SDI related services.

Since a part of my Master thesis deals with business models for
FOSS4G, I find their situation interesting and would like to help
them to take a deeper plunge into the FOSS4G world. In order to help
prepare a brief report for them including some statistical information
about few of the bigger players in FOSS4G business.

It would be great if some of the business leaders in the OSGeo community
could
provide me with inputs for the report. Your input will not only
help me convince them that FOSS4G is worth it
(I am already convinced, but need some data to support my
claim) but also help me to understand the business models better.

If you want to keep your inputs confidential, you are welcome
to contact me off-list (daniele.ocuATgmail.com). Names, names of companies
will be kept
confidential (just call them company A,B,C etc) in the final report. Once
the report is ready
It will be shared it as an open document under appropriate
CC license, if that is desired.

The report needs to be ready in three weeks, I look forward
for the inputs.

Thank you in advance.

Best regards

Daniele


-- 
Researcher @ Osaka City University
Graduate School for Creative Cities
http://gisws.media.osaka-cu.ac.jp/gistrends

"My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my
life there."
— Charles F. Kettering
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